NASCAR
Jake Garcia Takes First Truck Series Win, Upsetting Chase Contenders
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Few could have predicted the chaos that reigned supreme in the first Truck Series Chase race. Bristol Motor Speedway was not kind to most of the 10 title contenders, paving the way for a new face to find victory lane. Jake Garcia narrowly missed this year’s championship cut, but took home a maiden NASCAR win from Thunder Valley.
From the pole, Layne Riggs showed early why he’s the top dog in this championship Chase. Front Row Motorsports’ No. 34 Ford led every lap of Stage 1, repeating this effort in Stage 2 too. A slow pit stop for Riggs after sweeping both stages saw the points leader restart sixth. After racing back up to third, Riggs ran into some more issues. Pitting for a loose wheel set Riggs back enough to remain out of contention. The points leader left Bristol with hat in hand after finishing a dismal 32nd-place.
Trouble on pit road for Layne Riggs! đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/uijXyamZtr
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) September 18, 2026
Up front, meanwhile, Jake Garcia’s No. 98 Ford found the front and never relented. The ThorSport Racing driver was victorious for the first time in NASCAR competition. Garcia’s win also ended a long losing drought for the storied Truck team.
“I’ve been pushing for it for 94 starts,” Garcia said. “Really proud of all my guys, they brought an amazing truck tonight. It was good today, but qualifying got rained out. So we had a good strategy that helped us come from the back. Got some track position to start Stage 3 with the lead, and it just kind of took off from there. Had some adversity on that last restart, but fortunately the truck was fast enough to overcome that. Just really proud of this moment. ThorSport Racing is a really strong team, especially historically. So, just proud of all my guys on the 98 team for being able to end that winless streak. It’s been so long since we’ve got a win. It feels really good to be the one to get it done.”
Even crazier than Garcia winning were no Chase drivers finishing in the top-five. Behind Garcia were: Bayley Currey, Stewart Friesen, Justin Haley, and Tristan McKee. The best finishing title contender was Gio Ruggiero in sixth.
Thanks to winning both stages, Riggs’ points damage was minimized and he still holds a narrow lead. The No. 34 remains atop the championship by three points over eighth-place finisher Kaden Honeycutt.
.@NASCAR_Trucks Chase standings after Bristol: #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/H5mdytEzXH
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) September 18, 2026
Chase race two for the truckers is Saturday from Kansas Speedway. The Race to Stop Suicide 200 will be the next step in the title hunt for all 10 contenders. The Kansas prairie will become a high-speed frenzy at 1 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
