Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Nascar

Layne Riggs wins NASCAR Truck New Hampshire race amid nail-bitting Chase battle

It was a Front Row Motorsports 1-2 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS), as Layne Riggs claimed the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory over teammate Chandler Smith in double overtime. It’s been an incredible season for Riggs, who enters the Chase as the No. 1 seed with his sixth win of the 2026 Truck season. Watch: Riggs

Layne Riggs wins NASCAR Truck New Hampshire race amid nail-bitting Chase battle

It was a Front Row Motorsports 1-2 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS), as Layne Riggs claimed the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory over teammate Chandler Smith in double overtime.

It’s been an incredible season for Riggs, who enters the Chase as the No. 1 seed with his sixth win of the 2026 Truck season.

Watch: Riggs celebrates New Hampshire win, regular-season crown

Kaden Honeycutt finished third, Stewart Friesen fourth, Connor Zilisch fifth, Tristan McKee sixth, Christopher Bell seventh, Daniel Hemric eighth, Justin Haley ninth, and Patrick Eatmon tenth.

The real battle was the one around the final spot inside the Chase in Saturday’s cut-off race. Stewart Friesen, Tyler Ankrum, and Jake Garcia were all vying for the tenth spot inside the Chase field before the reset, and Ankrum ultimately secured the final berth by seven points over Friesen.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
Read Also:

Stages 1 and 2

A stack-up at the start damaged several trucks. Among them was Luke Baldwin, who completely destroyed the nose of his No. 33 from the final spot on the grid. He replaced teammate Frankie Muniz in that truck, who stepped aside for Baldwin after the rookie driver failed to qualify his own entry.

The early carnage didn’t end there either, as Landen Lewis spun into the wall soon after due to contact with John Hunter Nemechek.

At the front, Riggs led the way, but not for long as Zilisch ran him down and snatched the top spot away.

Zilisch went on to win Stage 1 over Riggs, Hemric, C. Smith, Bell, Ruggiero, McKee, Enfinger, Garcia, and Gavan Boschele.

Garcia moved into the lead with a two-tire call during the stage break, and held the top spot for a bit before Smith passed him. 

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

The next yellow was for Spencer Boyd spinning into the wall. On the ensuing restart, Zilisch took the lead and never looked back. He swept the stages, winning Stage 2 over C. Smith, Riggs, Bell, Garcia, Ruggerio, Hemric, Boschele, Mosack, and Friesen.

Stage 3

John Hunter Nemechek crashes, No. 5 TRICON Garage Toyota; Timmy Hill, No. 56 Hill Motorsports Toyota

John Hunter Nemechek crashes, No. 5 TRICON Garage Toyota; Timmy Hill, No. 56 Hill Motorsports Toyota

Photo by: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images

Friesen rolled the dice, taking a two-tire call and moving into the race lead as his Chase hopes faded. He stayed up front, but quickly lost the lead to Riggs.

In the battle to make the Chase, Friesen was facing both Garcia and Ankrum in the fight for the final spot inside the Chase. Garcia was suddenly at the back after pitting outside the box during the stage break, and Ankrum was struggling with mechanical problems, including brake issues.

That put Friesen in position to move into the final Chase spot, as Riggs drove off with the race lead.

Back in the pack, Nemechek spun, collecting Timmy Hill and Kris Wright as all three trucks suffered significant damage. there was another quick caution after that, with Christopher Bell spinning into the wall.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Riggs continued to lead, but all eyes were on the trio of Ankrum, Garcia, and Friesen, who held the tenth and final spot inside the Chase with almost no buffer.

As the laps ticked away, both Garcia and Ankrum started to chip away at the deficit. With under ten laps to go, Friesen and Ankrum were tied for the final Chase spot.

Soon after, Boschele lost control and slammed the wall, setting up a sprint to the finish. Most of the field stayed out, and Ankrum was one of the last to do, netting a few positions but with fresh tires on the trucks right behind him.

In the first overtime restart, Ruggiero sent it under Riggs for the race lead and lose control, crashing in front of the pack. Mosack, Sutton, Eckes, and Perez all suffered damage in the melee, while Ankrum narrowly slipped by.

The next restart was far cleaner, as Riggs held off Smith for the win. Ankrum was losing positions, but not fast enough to help Friesen, securing the tenth and final Chase spot for 2026.

Watch: Ankrum survives New Hampshire drama to clinch final Chase spot

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

– The Motorsport.com Team

Read More

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Nascar

NASCAR heads back out west to Phoenix Raceway with a triple-header weekend of racing, featuring Cup, O'Reilly, and Trucks. Phoenix hosted the season finale...

Nascar

Ryan Ellis has secured full-time ride in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series for the 2027 season with Alpha Prime Racing. Tablo TV will follow...

Nascar

Legacy Motor Club hasn’t reached its full potential yet but it views Josh Berry as a catalyst to get it there and that’s a...

Nascar

NASCAR Cup and O'Reilly drivers will compete at WWT Raceway (Gateway) this weekend for the second round of the 2026 Chase for the championship....

Nascar

There was much about the logistics of the NASCAR weekend in San Diego that was remarkable but none greater than the fact that the...

Nascar

NASCAR typically issues penalties reports by the end of business day on Tuesday but no later than Wednesday. There has been nothing issued thus...

Nascar

Dale Earnhardt Jr. remains one of the most popular figures in NASCAR today, and the two-time Daytona 500 winner can't go anywhere without fans...

Nascar

At the end of Stage 1 of last weekend's Southern 500, Carson Hocevar spun Brad Keselowski in a battle for position. They made contact...

Nascar

After urging from Dale Earnhardt Jr. and several others, Cleetus McFarland (real name Garrett Mitchell) has finally purchased his own Pro Late Model. He...

Nascar

Carson Hocevar’s aggressive racing style, outspoken personality, and willingness to lean into the villain role have made him one of NASCAR’s more polarizing young...

Nascar

Legacy Motor Club has officially announced Josh Berry as the driver of its No. 42 Toyota for the 2027 NASCAR Cup season. He will...

Nascar

Actor Brad Pitt and Bass Pro Shops CEO Johnny Morris will give the command to start engines for the NASCAR Cup race at Bristol...

Nascar

Ty Gibbs got up to second in the closing laps of Sunday's Southern 500 at Darlington but didn't have enough to chase down his...

Advertisement