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Layne Riggs in victory lane. (David Moulthrop photo)\nResults<\/p>\n
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014 In a thrilling final run to the checkered flag, Layne Riggs bobbed and weaved, saving just enough fuel to keep a pair of hard-charging fellow Ford drivers in Ty Majeski and Ben Rhodes behind him \u2013 ultimately earning his first trophy of the season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series inaugural race on the streets of downtown St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n
Riggs\u2019 No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford crossed the line a .879-seconds ahead of Majeski for the sixth victory of his career in Saturday\u2019s dramatic, high-action OnlyBulls Green Flag 150 at St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n
Starting 28th\u00a0in the 36-car field, Riggs turned in remarkable work moving forward from the drop of the green flag. He finished seventh in the opening 20-lap stage and won the second stage 20 laps later. Riggs said the fuel light was flickering with about eight laps to go and that he was almost certain he wasn\u2019t going to have enough to finish, \u201cjust didn\u2019t know how long it was going to last.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
It lasted long enough to take the win and allow for victory donuts around the crowded course as he celebrated the first road course victory of his career, leading a race best 41 of the 80 laps.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a lot of fun racing here at St. Pete, I think everybody heard street course and thought they weren\u2019t going to be able to pass and there wouldn\u2019t be great side-by-side racing, but this was one of the race-iest tracks we\u2019ve ever gone to at least in the truck series in my time,\u2019\u2019 a smiling Riggs said. \u201cIt was a lot of fun.<\/p>\n
\u201cI call myself a road racer now,\u2019\u2019 he added with a smile, noting this was only his fifth career road course race of any kind in his life. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing to race so many well-known guys, going past some and knowing these guys are road course ringers and we were faster today.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Sunny skies and a scenic 1.8-mile 14-turn course along the downtown St. Pete waterfront provided a great scene for the series\u2019 first ever street course event and the trucks did not disappoint the large and enthusiastic crowd.<\/p>\n
At one point late in the race, Riggs, 23, held a sizable two-minute plus advantage on the field, but lapped traffic in the final 10 laps allowed Majeski and Rhodes to close in. With a lap to go it looked like Majeski had put his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford in position to make a final challenge on Riggs, but he overshot Turn 13 (for the second time on the day) \u2013 recovering enough to hold onto second but still feeling he\u2019d lost an opportunity.<\/p>\n
He also climbed out of his Ford truck similarly encouraged by the venue.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was probably the most fun I\u2019ve had in a race car in a long time,\u2019\u2019 said the 2024 series champion Majeski. \u201cA lot of fun. It\u2019s a racy race track with three good passing zones and rewards discipline.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust finding that balance between being aggressive and making mistakes and staying disciplined,\u2019\u2019 Majeski said of his day, which included two laps out front and that runner-up finish after starting 22nd.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust made a little mistake into [turn] 13, got a little wheel-hop and had to chase it and battle my way back. Hope everyone enjoyed the show. We passed a lot of trucks today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rhodes, who led 23 laps early, similarly could not mount a challenge in the closing laps, having to save fuel himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s all we had in the tank for our F150 here, literally I was running out of gas those last two laps,\u2019\u2019 said Rhodes, who now has a pair of top-five finishes through the opening three races of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally proud of Ford Racing for bringing us a fast truck. Our truck\u2019s in one-piece and a lot of these trucks aren\u2019t. Very excited though. Brand new truck and a good showing for it.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Former IndyCar stars \u2014 Dario Franchitti and James Hinchcliffe and current IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series full-timer Colin Braun \u2014 added an extra element of intrigue to the field. Braun, who started 16th\u00a0in Kaulig Racing\u2019s No. 25 RAM Truck finished ninth \u2013 best among that trio.<\/p>\n
The former Indy 500 polesitter and multi-race winner Hinchcliffe finished 10th\u00a0in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet and the three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Franchitti, was officially scored 27th, his No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota pitting late in the race and losing a lap.<\/p>\n
Fords swept the top four positions, with Riggs\u2019 teammate Chandler Smith finishing fourth after leading seven laps. TRICON Garage\u2019s Kaden Honeycutt rounded out the top-five in a Toyota.<\/p>\n
Niece Motorsports teammates Landen Lewis and Andres Perez De Lara were sixth and seventh with McAnally-Hilgemann\u2019s Daniel Hemric, Braun and Hinch completed the top-10.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the overall headliner is that a Bahamian, North Carolina boy won on a road course against some of the best in the world,\u2019\u2019 a grinning Riggs said. \u201cIt\u2019s a testament to everyone at Front Row Motorsports and a shout out to [sports car driver] Joey Hand who did a lot of work with me.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an amazing place to come and I don\u2019t know why we couldn\u2019t come back next year \u2026 I couldn\u2019t believe how packed the grandstands were and I thought it was one of the best road course races the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has ever seen,\u2019\u2019 Riggs said of running the double-header weekend along with the IndyCar Series, which races Sunday. \u201cThank you to all the fans for coming out.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Smith now leads the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship standings by 34 points over the former two-time series champion Rhodes.<\/p>\n
Layne Riggs in victory lane. (David Moulthrop photo)
\nResults<\/p>\n
(28)\u00a0 Layne Riggs, Ford, 80.<\/p>\n
(22)\u00a0 Ty Majeski, Ford, 80.<\/p>\n
(4)\u00a0 Ben Rhodes, Ford, 80.<\/p>\n
(5)\u00a0 Chandler Smith, Ford, 80.<\/p>\n
(19)\u00a0 Kaden Honeycutt, Toyota, 80.<\/p>\n
(8)\u00a0 Landen Lewis, Chevrolet, 80.<\/p>\n
(14)\u00a0 Andres Perez De Lara, Chevrolet, 80.<\/p>\n
(34)\u00a0 Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 80.<\/p>\n
(16)\u00a0 Colin Braun, RAM, 80.<\/p>\n
(3)\u00a0 James Hinchcliffe, Chevrolet, 80.<\/p>\n
(35)\u00a0 Ben Maier, Chevrolet, 80.<\/p>\n
(11)\u00a0 Justin Haley, RAM, 80.<\/p>\n
(1)\u00a0 Connor Mosack, Chevrolet, 80.<\/p>\n
(30)\u00a0 Cole Butcher #, Ford, 80.<\/p>\n
(31)\u00a0 Christian Eckes, Chevrolet, 80.<\/p>\n
(18)\u00a0 Tyler Reif, Chevrolet, 80.<\/p>\n
(12)\u00a0 Daniel Dye, RAM, 80.<\/p>\n
(9)\u00a0 Jake Garcia, Ford, 80.<\/p>\n
(20)\u00a0 Kris Wright, Chevrolet, 80.<\/p>\n
(29)\u00a0 Tanner Gray, Toyota, 80.<\/p>\n
(26)\u00a0 Carter Fartuch, Ford, 80.<\/p>\n
(25)\u00a0 Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 80.<\/p>\n
(10)\u00a0 Adam Andretti, Toyota, 80.<\/p>\n
(15)\u00a0 Brenden Queen #, RAM, 80.<\/p>\n
(2)\u00a0 Giovanni Ruggiero, Toyota, 79.<\/p>\n
(17)\u00a0 Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 79.<\/p>\n
(6)\u00a0 Dario Franchitti, Toyota, 79.<\/p>\n
(21)\u00a0 Mini Tyrrell #, RAM, 77.<\/p>\n
(24)\u00a0 Jackson Lee, Ford, 75.<\/p>\n
(23)\u00a0 Frankie Muniz, Ford, 74.<\/p>\n
(13)\u00a0 Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 70.<\/p>\n
(36)\u00a0 Timmy Hill, Toyota, 63.<\/p>\n
(33)\u00a0 Dawson Sutton, Chevrolet, Accident, 62.<\/p>\n
(27)\u00a0 Nathan Nicholson, Chevrolet, Accident, 55.<\/p>\n
(32)\u00a0 Derek White, Ford, Fuel Pump, 52.<\/p>\n
(7)\u00a0 Wesley Slimp, Toyota, Power Steering, 15.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
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