NASCAR
Front Row Motorsports Back in Victory Lane on St. Petersburg Streets with Layne Riggs
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The first ever street race in Craftsman Truck Series history saw a cautious final few laps. On the famed St. Petersburg Street Course, Layne Riggs’ No. 34 Ford ran to the checkers with a near-empty fuel tank. Shaking his truck back and forth in the closing corners, the second generation star outlasted a final turn dive bomb from Ty Majeski. Through three weeks of the young Truck Series season, Front Row Motorsports has now been to victory lane twice with both of their drivers.
The opening laps were largely dominated by last week’s fastest man–Ben Rhodes. For a second straight race, the ThorSport No. 99 had its tail in the wind early. The two-time champion was once again trying to erase a long losing drought. Rhodes would pick up the Stage 1 win, but lost ground to Riggs and FRM teammate Chandler Smith in Stage 2.
Riggs, who started 28th thanks to no qualifying, quickly asserted himself as top dog once he took the lead. Minus a few restarts, the No. 34 led the remainder of the way to a sixth career triumph. Riggs’ fuel light began flashing inside of the final 10 laps, but he ultimately had enough gas to hold the entire pack at bay. Thanks to the victory plus the stage win, Riggs vaulted himself from 23rd to fifth in points leaving St. Petersburg.
LAYNE RIGGS WINS ON THE STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG! pic.twitter.com/lJzMdAsobV
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 28, 2026
“It was a lot of fun racing here at St. Pete,” Riggs said. “I think that [when] everybody heard street course, they heard not going to be able to pass. Not great side-by-side racing. This is one of the most racy tracks we have gone to in the Truck Series, at least in my time going, on a road course. It was a lot of fun. That is a testament to everybody at Front Row Motorsports. I want to give my first shoutout to Joey Hand from Ford Racing. He has done a lot of work with me at the road courses, at St. Pete here with me. We have been practicing on the Ford Racing simulator since December trying to get better. My goal going into this year, I said I really want to get a win out of my comfort zone. I think I am labeled as the short track guy and I feel like now I can do it at all of them. At least at the majority of them. I am still working on the superspeedways. It was just great to broaden the wins I have gotten. I think it is really showing I am perfecting my craft and I am a force to be reckoned with no matter where we go.”
Behind Riggs and Majeski were Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith, and Kaden Honeycutt. The rest of the St. Petersburg top-10 were: Landen Lewis, Andres Perez, Daniel Hemric, Colin Braun, and past IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe.
The Craftsman Truck Series will return to action in three weeks from Darlington Raceway. The Track Too Tough To Tame will host the Buckle Up South Carolina 200 on Friday, March 20. The green flag will fly at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. This race will also be FS1’s driver’s only broadcast for the 2026 season.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo credits to David Jensen/Getty Images
