Layne Riggs delivered an impressive performance in the Craftsman Truck Series’ Rackley 200 at Nashville Superspeedway, showing speed right from the start despite limited practice laps. Piloting Front Row Motorsports‘ latest truck, Riggs started from third and was contending for the win early, keeping the focus keyword—Layne Riggs third-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway—central to the action.
Early Momentum and Stage Wins
After encountering a cording tire issue during practice, which restricted him to just six timed laps, Riggs nonetheless began the race as a formidable challenger. By the 19th trip around the Tennessee circuit, he was pressuring Corey Heim, the series’ leader in wins and the favorite for the regular season championship. Riggs successfully overtook Heim to claim his third career stage victory, all achieved within the first dozen races of the 2025 season.
Pit Stop Issues Begin to Surface
The momentum shifted for Riggs and the No. 34 team during the first break at the end of Stage 1. A mistake on pit road led to the loss of multiple positions, forcing Riggs to fight his way back. Displaying strong pace, he recovered to finish Stage 2 just behind Corey Heim, positioning himself as a top contender heading into the final stretch of the Rackley 200.
Final Pit Stop Setback Redefines the Race
The most significant setback for Riggs occurred during the team’s last pit stop. Blake Hickman, working as the front tire changer, encountered a problem with the right-front tire, resulting in Riggs falling back to eighth place on track. Meanwhile, Rajah Caruth’s No. 71 crew executed a flawless stop, enabling Caruth to start the last stage in clean air.
As the laps counted down, Heim launched a late-race challenge on Caruth for the race lead. This opened a door for Riggs to catch up to the front runners, but he ultimately was unable to overtake the No. 11 Toyota for second place. The No. 34 Ford crossed the finish line in third, solidifying a trio of consecutive top-five results for Riggs.
“This one is probably one of the biggest stingers so far,”
—Layne Riggs, Driver
Despite his dominance throughout much of the race, a win remained elusive for Riggs at Nashville. He reflected on a similarly tough experience at Bristol the prior year but noted that on that occasion, he closed the deal with a victory.
Repeated Pit Road Struggles
The difficulties on pit road were not unique to Nashville for Riggs and his team. He recalled a nearly identical mistake at the end of Stage 1 earlier this season at Texas Motor Speedway, where a pit road issue from the lead dropped him all the way to 25th in the running order.
“It just stings when it feels like I did everything flawlessly on the race track and we just gave it away on pit road. We just have to be better on pit road. These races, especially here in the trucks, it’s so line dominant and clean air means so much. My balance would change tremendously with each [truck] I passed to get to the front. You have to get single-filed out to start making passes and at that point you lose so much track position.”
—Layne Riggs, Driver
Searching for Solutions and Looking Ahead
The team is acutely aware that improvement on pit road is essential to capitalize on strong race pace. Riggs summarized the path forward succinctly:
“Just practice more. Get better reps and be smarter,”
—Layne Riggs, Driver
He emphasized the particular challenge of maintaining composure in critical, late-race situations, adding,
“When we get down to these end-of-the-race situations and come in leading, [we] cannot let the pressure get to us.”
—Layne Riggs, Driver
Notwithstanding the setback, Riggs secured a playoff point and now sits just 11 points behind fourth place in the regular season standings. His continued consistency, demonstrated by his recent string of top-five results, keeps him within striking distance of the leaders as the series heads deeper into the season. The lessons learned at Nashville Superspeedway may well shape the No. 34 team’s approach as they target future victories amid tight competition from rivals like Corey Heim and Rajah Caruth.
