NASCAR
Layne Riggs Rebounds From Lap One Spin to Take Second-Straight Bristol Summer Win
BRISTOL, Tenn. – It was anything but a conventional night around The Last Great Colosseum for Layne Riggs. Going around after lap one contact sent the No. 34 Ford to the tail of the field early on, kickstarting a very impressive comeback. By Stage 3, Riggs had clawed all the way back to the lead and remained out front for the duration of the night. Riggs now joins Corey Heim as a Round of 8 lock after his third victory of 2025.
Jake Garcia converted a third career pole position into a maiden Stage win, after getting by Corey Heim late. The only stoppage in the opening Stage was a lap one spin by Playoff favorite Layne Riggs.
Unfortunately for Garcia’s No. 13 Ford, he lost power steering early in the second Stage. Combined with mechanical woes for Chandler Smith and Tyler Ankrum spinning, the opening laps were not kind to Playoff contenders. Heim would likewise hang onto take the second Stage win. This marked a whopping 17th stage win of the season for the TRICON Garage driver.
What would ultimately be the winning play happened on pit road, with Layne Riggs edging out ahead of Heim to start the final Stage. Heim was sent back as far as seventh after a blown restart, having to spend many laps regaining lost ground. Up front meanwhile, Riggs cruised nearly uncontested to a second-straight Bristol Playoff win. As a contender this time though, the Tennessee victory means the 34 is onto the Round of 8.
“You don’t get two mulligans in the Playoffs and I got two,” Riggs said. “Not sure what happened on the initial start with the 7, I felt like I was there pretty good. Man, just the first lap of the race to spin out, it’s a blow to confidence for sure. But I have got faith in this team, I got faith in everybody here.”
“Thank you to all the fans by the way, y’all are great. Thank you for the energy. Just got to thank Love’s Travel Stops, Ford Racing, Peak man y’all are awesome! So loud, oh my gosh. Man this is cool, thank you to everyone involved, these guys are going crazy. Wooo! Come on baby, let’s get it Bristol!!!”
“I think this just shows that we are right there, we’re in contention. We can do it, and these guys right here don’t give up. I don’t give up. And man, three in a row at Bristol Motor Speedway for Front Row Motorsports, big testament to to all these guys. We got a really good package here, man I am excited for New Hampshire. I’ve never ever been there and I already love that racetrack. So bring the Playoffs on, bring them on!”
Non-contender Ben Rhodes split the Riggs and Heim pairing up at the finish, just ahead of Ty Majeski and Daniel Hemric. The rest of the Bristol top-10 were: Tanner Gray, Connor Mosack, Andres Perez, Corey Lajoie, and Matt Crafton.
Riggs joins Heim as a Round of 8 lock, and the only drivers who head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway stress-free. The updated Playoff grid is below, with 10 becoming eight next weekend.
Elimination week will soon be here for the Truckers, with two championship paths ending at New Hampshire. The EJP 175 will go green Saturday at noon on FS1, NRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. This marks the Truck Series’ first trip to The Magic Mile in eight years, making it a new stop for almost everyone.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
