Layne Riggs Wins the NASCAR Truck Series Race at New Hampshire
Welcome to the Happy Hour Racing race recap - the day-after breakdown of what actually decided the race. This one covers the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, not the Cup race.
The Short Version
Layne Riggs won the Team EJP 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, August 22, in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular-season finale. He started on the pole, led 106 of 189 laps, and held off his own Front Row Motorsports teammate Chandler Smith by 0.293 seconds after the race went to double overtime. It was his sixth win of 2026 and the 11th of his Truck Series career. He left Loudon with the win, the regular-season championship, and the No. 1 seed for the Chase.
How Riggs Took Over the Magic Mile
Riggs put the No. 34 Ford on the pole at 129.789 mph and led the opening 35 laps. Then Connor Zilisch took it from him. Zilisch, running the No. 71 Chevrolet as a Cup regular ineligible for Truck points, led 55 laps and swept both stages. For most of the afternoon it looked like his race.
The flip came on lap 120. Riggs got back to the front and never gave it up. He led the last 71 laps of the race, which included both overtime restarts. Six lead changes among five drivers is a quiet number for a race this messy, and that is the point. Once Riggs cleared the field on that restart, nobody got close enough to move him.
The finish was a Front Row Motorsports one-two. Chandler Smith brought the No. 38 home second, close enough to see it but never close enough to take it.
The Overtime Wreck That Decided the Chase
The race was scheduled for 175 laps. It ran 189. Gavan Boschele spun into the Turn 1 wall with about four laps to go, and that caution wiped out what was left of the scheduled distance.
The first overtime restart fell apart immediately. Giovanni Ruggiero went for a move on Riggs, ran up the banking, made contact with the leader, and spun. Connor Mosack could not miss him. Dawson Sutton, Christian Eckes and Andres Perez De Lara all got swept into it. That is five trucks torn up on a green-white-checkered attempt.
Eckes and Ruggiero were already locked into the Chase, so the wreck cost them equipment more than position. For everybody still fighting for the last spot, it was the whole season in one corner. The second restart went clean and Riggs drove away.
Nine cautions for 56 laps tells you what kind of day it was. Twenty-eight of the 36 starters still finished on the lead lap.
Strategy: Two Tires, a Pit Box Penalty, and No Rear Brakes
The last Chase spot came down to three drivers and three very different afternoons.
Stewart Friesen played it aggressive. His team went with a two-tire call to gain track position, and it worked. He drove the No. 52 to fourth, his best result of the stretch run, and did everything he could do.
Jake Garcia hurt himself. He pitted outside his box during a stage break and got the penalty for it. That cost him track position he never got back, and he settled for 14th in the No. 98.
Tyler Ankrum had the worst day of the three and still won the fight. His No. 18 lost rear brakes in the middle of the race and dropped almost a lap down. He kept it out of trouble, threaded the overtime wreck, and finished 16th. That was enough by seven points over Friesen and 11 over Garcia.
"It is extremely rare you come to a place as fast as this and have no rear brakes and can't fix the problem," Ankrum said, adding that his team "did not perform like we belong in the Chase." He is in it anyway.
Riggs gave the credit for the winning car to his crew. "Statement win, this is awesome," he said. "My crew chief Dylan Cappello, engineer Jonathan Coates, they made some excellent, excellent adjustments there at the end."
Stats and Fun Facts
- Riggs led 106 of 189 laps, including the final 71.
- It was his first Truck Series win at New Hampshire and the 11th of his career.
- Six wins in one season is a career best for him.
- Zilisch swept both stages and still finished fifth after the late chaos.
- Tristan McKee, who is 16, ran sixth.
- Cup regular Christopher Bell finished seventh in the No. 62 after spinning into the wall earlier in the race.
Who Is Hot and Who Is Not
Hot. Riggs is the obvious one. Six wins, the regular-season title, the top seed, and a truck that was fast all weekend. Kaden Honeycutt is right behind him in the standings and finished third after losing a tire in the opening stage, which is a good sign for a driver who has to beat Riggs over seven races. Friesen is not in the Chase, but a fourth-place run in a must-have race says the No. 52 still has speed.
Not. Christian Eckes goes into the Chase off a 28th-place finish and a torn-up truck. Ruggiero caused the wreck that ended his own day and several others, which is not the note you want going into a seven-race elimination format. Jake Garcia missed the Chase by 11 points and can point at one pit stop as the reason.
The Chase Field and What Comes Next
Ten drivers are in: Layne Riggs, Kaden Honeycutt, Chandler Smith, Christian Eckes, Giovanni Ruggiero, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, Daniel Hemric, Ben Rhodes and Tyler Ankrum.
The Chase runs seven races and opens at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 17. If you want to see the rest of the season laid out with the updated points, check the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule and standings.
The Bottom Line
Riggs did not back into anything. He was fastest in qualifying, fastest at the end, and he cleared the field on two straight overtime restarts with the regular-season championship sitting on it. "Only got seven races left. No mercy," he said afterward. The other nine drivers in the Chase now have to prove that is talk.
Your take: Ruggiero's move on the first overtime restart wrecked five trucks and settled the last Chase spot. Was that a hard racer going for it, or a move he should have never tried on a leader with a title on the line? Tell us in the comments.
Shop the Story
We do not have Layne Riggs gear in stock right now. Here is the Truck Series and New Hampshire gear that is actually on the shelf today, including drivers who ran Saturday and are headed to the Chase:
- Ty Majeski #98 Truck Series Championship shirt - Majeski ran 11th on Saturday and is in the Chase.
- Chase Elliott #7 2026 Truck Series North Wilkesboro tee - from this season's Truck Series run at North Wilkesboro.
- Connor Zilisch #88 signature hang tag keychain - Zilisch swept both stages at Loudon.
- Christopher Bell #20 New Hampshire win tee - Bell finished seventh in the Truck race and has won at the Magic Mile.
- Ryan Blaney #12 New Hampshire 301 win tee - for the Loudon collection.
If none of that is your driver, the newest gear in the store gets restocked constantly, and the win shirt fan club sends you the shirt after your driver wins.
