Ecosave 200 Recap: Layne Riggs Sweeps Charlotte Truck Races
This is the Happy Hour Racing race recap, where we break down what actually decided the race and what it does to the championship. This one is the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Ecosave 200 at Charlotte, not the Cup race.
The Short Version
Layne Riggs won the Ecosave 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday night, October 9, and he had to take it from the points leader to get it. Kaden Honeycutt led a race-high 85 laps and was out front with seven to go when he slid up into the Turn 4 wall, and Riggs drove right by him. It is Riggs' seventh NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win of 2026 and the 12th of his career, and it completes a sweep of both Charlotte races this year. Honeycutt still leads the Chase, but the gap shrank from 37 points to 17 with four races left.
How Riggs Won the Ecosave 200
Riggs did not start up front. He rolled off 13th in the No. 34 Ford and needed only 15 laps to get to the lead. He held it to the end of Stage 1 and took the stage win. From there the race turned into a two-truck fight. Honeycutt led 47 straight laps in the middle of the race and won Stage 2, then Riggs answered with 22 laps out front of his own.
Honeycutt got the lead back on lap 102 and held it through the late cautions. When the field went green with 11 laps left, it was Honeycutt and Riggs side by side on the front row. Riggs closed in, Honeycutt drove deep into Turn 4 trying to keep him behind, and the No. 11 slid up and brushed the wall. Riggs took the lead on lap 128 and led the last seven laps. Christian Eckes got around Honeycutt for second, 0.596 seconds behind at the line.
- NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) October 9, 2026
Riggs gave the credit to the truck. "Front Row Motorsports gave me a great truck," he said, and he added that he was confident enough in it to drive back to the front. Honeycutt was blunt about his own mistake. "Too much mirror-driving on my end," he said, and he admitted he panicked a bit when Riggs got to his bumper.
The Late Crash That Set Up the Finish
For most of the night this was a clean race. The first two cautions were just the stage breaks. Then the last 35 laps got wild. Stewart Friesen brought out a yellow with an incident in Turn 4 on lap 100, and Kris Wright brought out another in Turn 1 on lap 114.
The big one came on lap 119. Rajah Caruth was running on a flat tire when he and Leland Honeyman Jr. made contact coming off the backstretch. Eight trucks were involved in all: Luke Baldwin, Daniel Dye, Honeyman, Caruth, Connor Mosack, Gio Ruggiero, Timmy Hill and Ben Rhodes. Mosack's truck caught fire on the way to pit road. NASCAR threw the red flag for 12 minutes and 58 seconds to clean it up.
That wreck hurt two Chase drivers badly. Ruggiero finished 26th, five laps down. Rhodes was 21st. Mosack had won the pole at 180.234 mph and led two laps early, and he went home 33rd.
Ecosave 200 by the Numbers
Only three drivers led a lap all night: Honeycutt with 85, Riggs with 47 and Mosack with 2. There were eight lead changes and five cautions for 28 laps. The race took 1 hour, 43 minutes and 15 seconds.
Who Is Hot and Who Is Not
Eckes keeps stacking results. He started eighth in the No. 91 McAnally Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet and finished second for the second straight Chase race. "We've done a really good job of bringing vehicles the last few races that are capable of running top-three, top-two," he said.
Chandler Smith deserves a mention too. He was sent to the tail of the field during the second stage break for an equipment interference penalty, and he still finished fifth after running third in both stages. Bayley Currey took fourth in the No. 5 TRICON Garage Toyota, and Daniel Hemric was sixth.
Going the other way, Ty Majeski finished 11th and Grant Enfinger was 12th. Neither one led a lap, and both lost ground they did not have to give.
The Truck Series Chase With Four Races Left
Here is the official top five after Charlotte. Honeycutt leads on 2,251 points. Riggs is second on 2,234, 17 back. Chandler Smith is third, 77 back, Eckes is fourth, 88 back, and Hemric is fifth, 109 back. Honeycutt has three wins this year. Riggs has seven, more than anyone else in the series.
Two weeks ago at Kansas the story was Riggs handing the lead away with a late mistake. You can read that one in our Kansas Truck Series recap. This time Honeycutt made the late mistake. Next up is Phoenix on Friday, October 16, then Talladega, Martinsville and the championship race at Homestead-Miami on November 6. See every date and the live points on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule and standings.
The Bottom Line
Honeycutt had the faster truck for most of the night and led almost twice as many laps. Riggs had the better last seven laps, and in a championship that comes down to 17 points, that is what counts.
Your turn. Was Honeycutt right to defend that hard with seven to go, or should he have taken second and protected the points lead? Tell us in the comments.
Shop the Story
We do not have Layne Riggs gear on the shelf yet. Here is the Truck Series and Charlotte gear we do have in stock right now:
- Chase Elliott #7 NASCAR 2026 Truck Series North Wilkesboro T-Shirt
- Ty Majeski #98 NASCAR 2024 Truck Series Championship Shirt
- Kyle Busch #7 NASCAR 2026 Truck Series Dover 69th Win T-Shirt
- Daniel Suarez #7 NASCAR 2026 Charlotte 600 Winner T-Shirt
- Shane van Gisbergen #88 NASCAR 2025 Charlotte Roval Winner T-Shirt
New gear lands all week. See the newest arrivals, or get the win shirt sent to you automatically through the fan club.
