Spin & Win: Riggs Fights Back For Another Bristol Sword

Layne Riggs celebrates with a burnout Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Scotte Sprinkle/Motorsports Hotspot photo)

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Layne Riggs put together his best impression of 1985 Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford in winning Thursday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

After an opening-lap spin due to contact from Corey Day, Riggs rallied all the way back to win the UNOH 250 presented by Ohio Logistics, securing his place in the second round of the postseason.

The second-generation driver from Bahama, N.C., clawed his way back inside the top 10 by the end of the first 65-lap stage, then found his way to second before the end of stage two and proceeded to battle with Corey Heim, his season-long rival.

Heim ultimately won the second stage, but a slow pit stop during the ensuing stage break dropped Heim to fourth and elevated Riggs to the lead as a result.

From there, Riggs took off like a rocket on the lap-141 restart that kicked off the final stage, opening a healthy margin off the top lane while series debutant Cole Butcher stumbled getting up to speed and bottlenecked the low groove behind him.

That stack-up mired Heim back as far as eighth place, allowing Riggs to get away to a lead he’d never relinquish again.

In what turned out to be a caution-free run to the finish, Riggs led the final 110 laps en route to his third Truck Series win of the year, the fifth of his career, and his second straight fall triumph at Bristol.

“You don’t ever get two mulligans in the playoffs, and I got two somehow,” said Riggs, who’d already salvaged a 17th-place finish in the playoff opener at Darlington two weeks ago after heavy contact with the wall.

“The first lap of the race to spin out, it’s a blow to your confidence, for sure. At that point, I’m thinking, ‘Why? How is this happening to us?’ I really thought it was over at that point until I realized I hadn’t hit anything,” he added. “But I’ve got faith in this team, and I’ve got faith in everybody at Front Row [Motorsports], and we don’t quit when the chips are against us.

Layne Riggs (34) leads Corey Heim (11) and Ty Majeski in Thursday night's UNOH 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Scotte Sprinkle/Motorsports Hotspot photo)

“I definitely didn’t make it easy on myself, that’s for sure. It all worked out though. I don’t know how.”

With the victory, Riggs joins Heim as the only two drivers to be guaranteed into the Round of 8.

The other eight playoff drivers will have to race their way to the next postseason segment in the Round of 10 finale at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 20.

Riggs’ closest pursuer in the final act wasn’t one of the title-eligible contenders, however. Instead, it was two-time Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes, who got to the No. 34’s bumper in traffic several times, but could never make a move to wrestle the lead away.

Still, in settling for second, Rhodes notched his best finish of the season and best result since a similar runner-up at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in October of 2024.

Heim ended up third, followed by defending series champion Ty Majeski and Daniel Hemric.

Tanner Gray, Connor Mosack, Andres Perez de Lara, Corey LaJoie, and three-time champion Matt Crafton closed out the top 10.

It was a night filled with struggles for some of the playoff contenders, as Riggs’ FRM teammate Chandler Smith battled a fuel pickup issue early on that led to a misfire, losing 14 laps in the pits as the team scrambled to rectify the situation.

Smith finished 30th and heads to Loudon 24 points below the elimination line, close to must-win territory at the flat, one-mile oval.

Polesitter Jake Garcia led 13 laps and won stage one, but suffered motor issues shortly after and ended up 31 laps down in 33rd. He’s 10 points ahead of Smith and 14 back of bubble driver Rajah Caruth.

Broadcast coverage of the Round of 10 finale, the Team EJP 175 at Loudon, airs Sept. 20 at noon ET on FS1, the NASCAR Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.