CONCORD, N.C. — Layne Riggs made clear what was on his mind as he took the checkered flag under caution to win the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday.
“Did it for Kyle, man, did it for Kyle,” Riggs said in a dedication to two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, who passed away Thursday at age 41 due to complications from pneumonia. It was just nine days ago that Busch won the Trucks Series race in Dover, Del.
In a race thrice delayed by rain from its scheduled Friday night start and run under NASCAR’s adverse conditions provision with a noon time limit, Riggs completed 110 of a scheduled 134 laps before the clock ran out.
He earned his second victory of the season, his first at Charlotte and the seventh of his career in a race that featured a record 11 cautions.
After a celebratory burnout in the tri-oval, Riggs, who led a race-high 52 laps and won the second stage, collected the checkered flag, exited his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford and performed a deep bow to the crowd in the grandstand — emulating Busch’s signature victory move.
Despite the win, however, Riggs’ mood was restrained.
“Our hearts are really heavy this weekend,” he said after giving Ford its first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory on a 1.5-mile intermediate speedway since Ben Rhodes won at Charlotte in 2023. “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,” he continued. “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.”
Ironically, after pushing Riggs to the lead, it was Smith who spun underneath third-place finisher Connor Zilisch off Turn 2 on Lap 106 to cause the final caution and allow Riggs to claim the win under caution after the clock struck noon.
Kaden Honeycutt was second when the yellow slowed the race for the last time, and with the runner-up finish, he retained his series lead by 11 points over Riggs.
“I definitely wanted to be the guy that gave Kyle (Busch) the bow there, because he definitely deserved it,” Honeycutt said. “If I had won, I was planning on giving (Busch’s son) Brexton the flag, because he (Kyle Busch) probably would have laid another butt-whipping on us if he was here.
“Just a bad week for all of us; a tough weekend for the whole community. Hug your loved ones, appreciate them, tell your mom and dad that you love them even if you don’t have a great relationship with them. Life means more than racing, for sure. Second is good, still have a points lead and we will fight in Nashville next week.”
Ben Rhodes ran fourth behind Zilisch, followed by Gio Ruggiero. Stage 1 winner Christian Eckes, Brandon Jones, Tanner Gray, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and William Sawalich completed the top 10.
Corey Day started from the pole in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Busch had been slated to drive, but Day’s race ended early in a dramatic accident on Lap 47.
Running in the top 10, Day threw a block on the No. 17 Toyota of Ruggiero on the backstretch, but contact from Ruggiero’s truck turned Day’s Silverado sideways and airborne.
Day’s truck completed one full rotation in mid-air before landing upright and colliding with the inside wall near the entrance to Turn 3 with bone-jarring impact.
After leaving the infield care center, Day expressed disappointment at not being able to deliver a good finish in Busch’s honor.
“The 17 got a big run there off of (Turn) 2,” Day said. “He kind of started to shade down, and I shaded with him. He shaded back up, and that was it.
“My spotter didn’t do anything wrong. He told me he was there. I thought I was clear, and I wasn’t. I hate it for the No. 7 guys. This is exactly what I didn’t want to do there. I just wanted to give them a good run. I feel terrible.”
–Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service
