Layne Riggs Completes Charlotte Sweep!
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Layne Riggs completed the first ever Charlotte Oval sweep, Friday, Ocotober 9, as he won the Ecosave 200! After heartbreak at Kansas two weeks prior, Riggs found himself leaving Charlotte just 17 points out of the points lead.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
It was clear from the start Riggs had the truck to beat as he paced the field in practice. Riggs started the race in 10th, and in the opening laps made a big charge to the front. It only took Riggs 15 laps to take the lead as he passed Kaden Honeycut between turns 1-2.
Riggs went on to win stage one with relative ease, but the win for the #34 team would not come easy as more woes continued on pit road.
During the stage break, Riggs entered his stall slow, and then had a slow change on the right rear causing him to lose four positions in the pits.
Riggs restarted stage two trying to recover, but saw himself fade backwards rather than forwards, as on the restart he found himself in a vulnerable position. The first big one was entering turn one, as Riggs found himself top of four wide against the fence. Riggs ran out of room, then had more issues challenging Christian Eckes, the driver in which started the four wide move, causing him to fade to the back of the top ten.
But once the field got strung out, Riggs was on rails again as he charged to second. The only thing holding back Riggs from potentially winning the stage was time, as with stage one and two being short, Riggs did not have an opportunity once taking second to run down Honeycutt.
Kaden Honeycutt won stage two, led most of stage three, and control the late race restarts, but it became clear that Layne Riggs was not going to be denied. Riggs hounded Honeyctt for four laps, but finally forced Honeycutt into a mistake on lap 128.
Coming out of turn four, while protecting high, Honeycutt would brush the wall causing him to lose momentum. Riggs, who was trying to cross him over, cut underneath and shot by the #11 uncontested, easily taking the lead. Riggs never looked back, while Honeycutt fell back to 3rd.
It was a hugely missed opportunity for Honeycutt, as the two horse race is back on with just four races remaining in the Craftsman Truck Series Season!
OTHER NOTES:
Bayley Currey had a remarkable day for Tricon Garage, as the car chief for the #1 truck for Tricon, attempted his seond race of the season and left Charlotte earning his second consecutive top five! Currey finished the race in 4th, and found himself in prime position on the late race restarts to help teammate Kayden Honeycutt get control of the lead as he opted to push his teammate. It is a feel good story as well for Currey, as there are plenty of questions about his role in the sport along with his racing future, and the produced results perhaps could get some eyes in his direction for the future!
It was a great day for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing as all three of its trucks inside the Chase finshed inside the top ten. The best runner was Christian Eckes, who finished 2nd, continuing his strong run from the spring race back in May. Daniel Hemric in his Delphi Kyle Busch tribute scheme finished 6th, while Tyler Ankrum, who announced earlier in the day that he would not be returning to the team, earned his first ever top ten at Charlotte with a 9th place effort.
Lastly, it was a great day for Niece Motorsports and Kaulig Racing. Landen Lewis finished 7th and Andres Perez earned his 3rd top ten of 2026 with an 8th place effort. For Kaulig, this was arguably the strongest collective effort all weekend. Justin Haley finished the race 10th, the only Kaulig truck inside the top ten, but the worst truck finished 17th, as Brenden Queen earned a 13th place finish, Mini Tyrrell 15th, Corey Lajoie 16th, and legend Regan Smith 17th.
UP NEXT:
The Craftsman Truck Series heads out west to Phoenix Raceway for a 150 mile race at the 1 mile dogleg oval. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 150 is slated for a 7:30 PM ET start time, and coverag can be found on FS1 on October 16th.
Motorsports Today will have coveage at the track, as Jeffrey Hrunka will be on site! So make sure to stick with us on all of our socials on X, Tiktok, Youtube, Instagram, and here at MotorsportsToday.net!
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