Layne Riggs Conquers St. Pete, Gas Gauge On Empty, Nerves On Full

– 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 – ultimately earning his first trophy of the season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series inaugural race on the streets of downtown St. Petersburg.

Riggs’ No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford crossed the line a .879-seconds ahead of Majeski for the sixth victory of his career in Saturday’s dramatic, high-action OnlyBulls Green Flag 150 at St. Petersburg.

Starting 28th in 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’t going to have enough to finish, “just didn’t know how long it was going to last.’’

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

“It was a lot of fun racing here at St. Pete, I think everybody heard street course and thought they weren’t going to be able to pass and there wouldn’t be great side-by-side racing, but this was one of the race-iest tracks we’ve ever gone to at least in the truck series in my time,’’ a smiling Riggs said. “It was a lot of fun.

“I call myself a road racer now,’’ he added with a smile, noting this was only his fifth career road course race of any kind in his life. “It’s amazing to race so many well-known guys, going past some and knowing these guys are road course ringers and we were faster today.’’

Sunny skies and a scenic 1.8-mile 14-turn course along the downtown St. Pete waterfront provided a great scene for the series’ first ever street course event and the trucks did not disappoint the large and enthusiastic crowd.

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) – recovering enough to hold onto second but still feeling he’d lost an opportunity.

He also climbed out of his Ford truck similarly encouraged by the venue.

“It was probably the most fun I’ve had in a race car in a long time,’’ said the 2024 series champion Majeski. “A lot of fun. It’s a racey race track with three good passing zones and rewards discipline.

“Just finding that balance between being aggressive and making mistakes and staying disciplined,’’ Majeski said of his day, which included two laps out front and that runner-up finish after starting 22nd.

“Just 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

Rhodes, who led 23 laps early, similarly could not mount a challenge in the closing laps, having to save fuel himself.

“That’s all we had in the tank for our F150 here, literally I was running out of gas those last two laps,’’ said Rhodes, who now has a pair of top-five finishes through the opening three races of the 2026 season.

“Really proud of Ford Racing for bringing us a fast truck. Our truck’s in one-piece and a lot of these trucks aren’t. Very excited though. Brand new truck and a good showing for it.’’

Former IndyCar stars – Dario Franchitti and James Hinchcliffe and current IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series full-timer Colin Braun – added an extra element of intrigue to the field. Braun, who started 16th in Kaulig Racing’s No. 25 RAM Truck finished ninth – best among that trio.

The former Indy 500 polesitter and multi-race winner Hinchcliffe finished 10th in 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.

Fords swept the top four positions, with Riggs’ teammate Chandler Smith finishing fourth after leading seven laps. TRICON Garage’s Kaden Honeycutt rounded out the top-five in a Toyota.

Neice Motorsports teammates Landen Lewis and Andres Perez De Lara were sixth and seventh with McAnally-Hilgemann’s Daniel Hemric, Braun and Hinch completed the top-10.

“I think the overall headliner is that a Bahamian, North Carolina boy won on a road course against some of the best in the world,’’ a grinning Riggs said. “It’s 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.’’

“It is an amazing place to come and I don’t know why we couldn’t come back next year … I couldn’t 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,’’ Riggs said of running the double-header weekend along with the IndyCar Series, which races Sunday. “Thank you to all the fans for coming out.’’

Smith now leads the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship standings by 34 points over the former two-time series champion Rhodes.

The series returns to action in the March 20 Buckle Up South Carolina at the historic Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (7:30 p.m. FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The 2025 season champion Corey Heim is the defending winner.

RACE RESULTS