NASCAR
Layne Riggs Wins Charlotte Truck Race Cut Short by Time
CONCORD, N.C. – University of North Carolina at Charlotte graduate Layne Riggs was a man on a mission in a rare Sunday Truck show at Charlotte. Driving a Front Row Motorsports Ford with his college’s colors on board, Riggs was the best in class, leading over 50 laps. The No. 34 was the lucky one out front when a caution ended this race 24 laps early, taking home his second win of the season.
Both opening stages were split by the fast title contenders of Christian Eckes and Layne Riggs. Late in Stage 2 saw a scary moment for Corey Day. The Spire Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet was turned and briefly took flight before slamming the inside wall and being clipped by traffic. Day, who was driving the truck intended for Kyle Busch, was thankfully uninjured in this massive incident.
A scary crash for Corey Day pic.twitter.com/T42OQ788Bt
— Rubbin is Racing (@rubbinisracing) May 24, 2026
.@corey_day_ says he’s ok after catching air in a #NASCAR vehicle for the first time and says he’s disappointed it wasn’t a better result today for the @SpireMotorsport 7. pic.twitter.com/vGYxBm02a3
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) May 24, 2026
Eckes and Riggs continued to trade the lead amongst themselves for much of a caution-plagued final stage. Due to so many yellows, a track record 11, the race ran against a time limit and was called short after 110 laps. Riggs, driving a truck sponsored by his alma mater University of North Carolina at Charlotte, took the 49ers’ green and gold to victory lane only five miles away from campus.
“Did it for Kyle, man, did it for Kyle,” Riggs said. “Our hearts are really heavy this weekend. I’ve been kind of struggling with it a little bit, just trying to keep my game face on and ride. I was borderline sobbing there at the end.”
“But these guys [the No. 34 team] have put a smile on my face. Great job to everybody at Front Row Motorsports. Thank you so much to my teammate Chandler Smith. We had a little teammate restart there [on Lap 104]. He stuck with me and pushed me. I’m super proud of him and the performance we had today.”
Behind Riggs at the finish were: Kaden Honeycutt, Connor Zilisch, Ben Rhodes, and Gio Ruggiero. The rest of Charlotte’s top-10 were: Christian Eckes, Brandon Jones, Tanner Gray, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and William Sawalich. Hear from a few of these drivers below.
Today’s runner-up @KadenWHoneycutt is very disappointed in racing against a time clock, saying they should’ve ran the race when a window was open for the full distance. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/81jIP2AS6H
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) May 24, 2026
.@ConnorZilisch rebounded nicely from a restart violation to finish 3rd, saying he was bored out there running under so many caution laps. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/EOD9uLFr2h
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) May 24, 2026
.@benrhodes admits he’s probably the only one happy about the shortened race, his truck was only good for 2 or 3 laps. The 99 leaves Charlotte in 4th. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/9cIWpvd1F7
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) May 24, 2026
.@RossChastain will not sweep his triple duty weekend from Charlotte, saying he’s disappointed in himself for damaging his truck early.
Further issues caused him to be on pit road at the finish, coming home 29th.
Chastain will try and defend his Coke 600 win in only a few… pic.twitter.com/kUvlbTeTkP
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) May 24, 2026
The top two in the championship were Charlotte’s top two finishers, with Honeycutt now ahead of Riggs by 11 points. This gap may change next week after Nashville Superspeedway and the Allegiance 200. The Tennessee green flag will fly Friday at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo credits to Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
