Layne Riggs entered Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series EcoSave 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval with a 22-point cushion above the Playoff cutline. He left it one point below, and with harsh words for veteran driver, and fellow Playoff contender, Grant Enfinger.
The day unraveled almost immediately for Riggs. After starting from the second position, Riggs saw his day take a drastic turn for the worse in the opening corner of the first lap of the race when contact from Enfinger’s No. 9 CR7 Motorsports truck sent Riggs into polesitter and eventual race winner Corey Heim, triggering a multi-truck incident.
Wild start to today's #NASCAR Truck race at the Roval. Layne Riggs got spun, went into Corey Heim, and they went into the barrier. Then Ben Rhodes just wadded his truck up. pic.twitter.com/3qgRV4qmir
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) October 3, 2025
Riggs’ No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford F-150 suffered a broken sway bar in the crash, which drastically hampered his truck’s handling for the duration of the event.
Despite the damage, Riggs clawed his way back toward the front as he found himself inside the top 10 heading into an overtime restart finish. Then, a possible clutch or broken rear-end housing left the 23-year-old to limp home to a disappointing 21st-place finish.
In a candid post-race media session, Riggs didn’t hold back his frustration with Enfinger.
“We just got wrecked by the 9,” Riggs said. “I don’t really understand what his thought process is. People say you’re supposed to take advice from the veterans and learn from them of how to race, and they race the worst out of anybody.”
Adding to Riggs’ frustration was the fact that this is the second time he’s suffered in a run-in with Enfinger on a road course this season.
“That’s twice this year we’ve gotten wrecked by the 9 truck, at Watkins Glen and here. Two separate incidents, two blatantly wrong on his part,” Riggs added. “We drug a swaybar arm off after that contact and just had a terrible handling truck the rest of the day.”
The mechanical failure on the final restart compounded an already frustrating afternoon for Riggs, who believed he was on pace for a solid top-10 result after rebounding from the opening-lap chaos.
“I think we could have finished in the top 10,” Riggs said. “I think we were running ninth or 10th and that would have been a pretty good day for us… but it was just really not our day.”
When asked whether Enfinger reached out after their previous incident at Watkins Glen International, Riggs confirmed Enfinger did reach out to him, apologized, and vowed to race him cleaner going forward. Riggs feels the vow was broken on Friday at the Roval.
“He did. He called and apologized and said he won’t do it again… This just blew all of that right out of the water,” Riggs seethed.
Playoff Pressure Mounting
With just two races remaining in the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs, at Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway, Riggs now finds himself in a must-perform situation to keep his championship hopes afloat.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoff Grid After The Charlotte Roval:
THE HEIM TIME IS NOW
Corey Heim is back at it again, winning his 10th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event of 2025 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway — breaking the single-season record.#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/pjNMP67A2J
— TobyChristie.com (@TobyChristieCom) October 4, 2025
Despite the setback, Riggs remains focused on the task at hand, entering Talladega, and he acknowledges the unpredictability of the final two races in the Round of 8.
“We go out and try to be as fast as we can and execute and win,” Riggs said of Talladega. “Luckily, we’re gonna have Chandler Smith as a teammate at Talladega, so we’re gonna try to work together the best we can.”
Riggs continued, “Martinsville is also a wild card, so I’m not really understanding this round of the Playoffs. I thought today was gonna be the least of the wild card problems, and the next thing I know, I couldn’t even make a corner.”
Whether fate swings back in his favor at Talladega and Martinsville or not, Riggs believes his team has shown the speed to contend at essentially every style of track this season.
“We’ve just got to keep our heads high, know that we’re fast… If we get in, we get in. It’s fate, and we did everything we could,” Riggs explained.
The tough afternoon for Riggs at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval is a stark reminder of how fickle motorsports, and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in particular, can be. One minute, you’re a championship favorite. Next, you find yourself in a position to possibly miss out on the Championship 4.
