Layne Riggs topped Craftsman Truck Series qualifying Friday afternoon at Darlington Raceway with a 167.705 mph lap. It’s his second career pole and his second this season.
The Front Row Motorsports driver will lead the field to green as the Playoffs begin with the “Sober or Slammer 200.” After qualifying for the race, Smith spoke about the unique characteristics of the track and how he maximized his effort.
“The most challenging part is trying to manage your expectations of how much grip you’re gonna have,” he said. “We started off practice in the mid-thirties and we fell off into the thirty-threes by the end of practice. And, all of a sudden, it’s like, ‘Alright, you’re gonna have to go run in the twenty-nines on your first lap. You’ve got one shot at it and you don’t know what it’s gonna feel like, so just go give it all you’ve got.
“No matter where you qualify,” Smith continued, “you’re probably trembling at this track. We hold it wide-open all the way through three and four and one and two to start; just lift for a split second in three and four on the end of the lap.”
His teammate, Chandler Smith, will start beside Riggs on the front row ton for the Playoff race. Corey Heim, Grant Enfinger and Kaden Honeycutt rounded out the top five fastest drivers in the qualifying session.
Gio Ruggiero, Daniel Hemric, Ty Majeski, Corey LaJoie and Tyler Ankrum completed the top 10.
You can tune in to The Sober or Slammer 200 at Darlington Raceway on Saturday at noon ET on Fox Sports 1 with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
