Riggs Lands Pole For Truck Series Playoff Opener
Layne Riggs earned the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole at Darlington Raceway. (Rusty Jarrett/Nigel Kinrade Photography)
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Front Row Motorsports’s Layne Riggs set the bar in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series qualifying Friday afternoon and will lead the field to green at Darlington Raceway.
Riggs laid down a quick lap of 29.323 seconds (167.705 mph) around the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval to capture his second Truck Series pole of the season.
Both of Riggs’ poles this year have come in the last six races, as he also led the field to green at Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway on June 20.
Now in the Truck Series playoff opener, Riggs will do so again, eyeing a win Saturday afternoon to advance into the Round of 8.
“I think we’re the fastest truck here this weekend. In practice we were really fast to start and we fell off a little bit, but I think we made the exact adjustments we needed,” said Riggs. “I love this racetrack and this place is a [challenge] to qualify at.
“I want to give a super big thanks to Front Row Motorsports, [myself and my] teammate are one and two on the leaderboard, so [an] awesome job by the whole organization,” he added. “This is my favorite racetrack and we were really fast. I’m excited for this race tomorrow.”
The 23-year-old was fourth quickest in practice and picked up nearly a second during qualifying by riding the top groove of ‘The Track Too Tough to Tame.’
In order to back his faith up, Riggs wants to take advantage of the speed his No. 34 possesses. If he does that he could be in line for his third win of the season, which would have all come since June when he first broke through this season at Pocono.
“I think just managing this race [will position us well]. Last year I felt I had a lot of raw natural speed. It plays right into my wheelhouse, we want to be smart and run a nice and smooth playoff race,” Riggs said. “It’s great we have speed, because it puts us in great position with track position, and now we can be up front, hopefully win a stage, get more playoff points, and control the day.
“Hopefully, that will be a little bit easier for us [on pole].”
Last year, Riggs ran his first ever Truck Series race at Darlington. He qualified eighth and, despite good track position, fell off and slipped back to a 21st-place result in 2024. Now being a year wiser and with recent momentum from the summer to help, Riggs looks to make a difference on Saturday.
Joining Riggs up front will be his teammate and fellow title contender Chandler Smith. Championship hopefuls Corey Heim, Grant Enfinger, and Kaden Honeycutt followed in third through fifth, respectively.
Other playoff drivers in the starting lineup include Daniel Hemric in seventh, Ty Majeski in eighth, Tyler Ankrum in 10th, and Rajah Caruth in 11th. Jake Garcia rolls off lowest among the 10 postseason-eligible contenders in 13th.
Coverage of the Sober or Slammer 200 is slated to begin Saturday, Aug. 30 at noon ET on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
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