Riggs Rockets to Phoenix Truck Pole Over Honeycutt; Full Starting Lineup

Layne Riggs may have looked like an afterthought for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole position Friday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway based on his 20th-fastest lap in practice earlier in the day, but you can never count out the Front Row Motorsports driver. And he showed exactly why in qualifying for the Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150.

The final truck to go onto the race track, Riggs blasted off a lap time of 27.039 seconds (133.141 mph), which allowed him to easily cruise to the pole position over Kaden Honeycutt, his rival for the championship. Riggs’ margin of victory for the pole was 0.155 seconds.

This pole marks a series-best fifth of the year for Riggs, who took home a series-best seventh win last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The pole marks the ninth of Riggs’ 76-race NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career.

After collecting the pole, Riggs, who was smiling ear to ear, explained that he has a really good feeling about Friday night’s race at the 1-mile oval in Avondale, AZ.

“Last year, we got the pole. Didn’t get to start on the pole, we had to start pretty much a lap down to start the race, and we still drove up and were leading with a few [laps] to go. And I think our trucks are miles better than it was last year. So, just super excited about tonight. I have a good feeling about this one,” Riggs said with a grin.

Honeycutt, who comes into this race with a 17-point lead over Riggs in the championship battle, will start alongside his rival for the title on the front row of Friday night’s race.

Chandler Smith, Landen Lewis, and Ben Rhodes rounded out the top-five fastest drivers in Friday’s qualifying session at Phoenix Raceway.

Official Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150 Starting Lineup