Layne Riggs persevered to win a wild conclusion to the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 24, that was postponed to two days and shortened by 24 laps due to time constraints.
The 23-year-old Riggs from Bahama, North Carolina, led five times for a race-high 52 of 110-scheduled laps in an event where he started on the front row and was competitive by racing at the front for a majority of the event. With the event mired with a race-record 11 caution periods, on-track incidents, foggy conditions, and intense on-track battles towards the front, Riggs capitalized on the final restart by receiving a push from teammate Chandler Smith. This allowed Riggs to lead the final seven laps under NASCAR’s adverse conditions rule due to time constraints, to fend off Kaden Honeycutt and notch an emotional Truck victory in the wake of the passing of two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch.
The event’s starting lineup was determined through a qualifying metric formula after inclement weather canceled Friday’s qualifying session. As a result, Corey Day, who filled in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST entry for the late two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, was awarded the pole position. He shared the front row with Layne Riggs.
The event was initially scheduled to occur on Friday, May 22, at 7:30 p.m. ET, but was first postponed to Saturday morning and a second time to Saturday night at 9 p.m. ET due to inclement weather that canceled both the event’s practice and qualifying sessions. Ultimately, the event was postponed a third time to 10 a.m. ET for Sunday, May 24, due to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ event occurring throughout the Trucks’ initial second time slate. Prior to the start of Sunday’s Truck event, NASCAR revealed intentions to use the adverse conditions rule to have the event at Charlotte complete by noon ET.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Corey Day gained an early launch from the inside lane while Layne Riggs struggled to launch from the outside lane. This caused the field to stack up and fan out through the frontstretch and the first two turns. Amid the early action, Day led the first lap over a hard-charging Kaden Honeycutt before the latter used the outside lane to duel with Day. Both Day and Honeycutt continued to battle fiercely for the lead until Day forced Honeycutt towards the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4. This allowed Riggs, who rebounded from his stumbling start, to storm past both and assume the lead on the second lap.
Through the first five laps, Riggs was leading by four-tenths of a second over Christian Eckes while Honeycutt, Brandon Jones, Day, Chandler Smith, Stewart Friesen, Leland Honeyman Jr., Jake Garcia and Ross Chastain were racing in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Luke Baldwin, who made early contact with the outside wall through the first two turns, plummeted to the tail end of the field in 36th place.
The following lap, the event’s first caution flew due to Shane van Gisbergen, who was racing towards the rear of the field, getting loose and spinning his No. 71 NationsGuard Chevrolet Silverado RST entry through the first two turns as he was dodged by Travis Pastrana. As the event restarted on the 11th lap, Riggs motored ahead of Eckes and Honeycutt from the inside lane and through the first two turns to retain the lead while the rest of the field behind fanned out through the backstretch. While Riggs led the next lap, the field continued to fan out and jostle for early spots through every turn and straightaway.
On Lap 14, Eckes and Riggs made contact for the lead through the frontstretch, with Riggs nearly getting sideways while trying to side-draft Eckes on the right-rear side. This allowed Eckes to move into the lead and both Honeycutt and Brandon Jones followed suit in second and third, respectively. Meanwhile, Riggs dropped to fourth place in front of teammate Chandler Smith as Eckes continued to lead by four-tenths of a second through the Lap 20 mark.
Shortly after, the event’s second caution flew due to Ty Majeski falling off the pace and coasting his No. 88 Menards/ThorSport Racing Ford F-150 entry through the apron. Majeski’s incident occurred not long after he pitted during the event’s first caution, and he dropped out of the lead lap category after he needed a wrecker to push him back to pit road. Teammate Cole Butcher would also drop off the pace, and he needed a wrecker’s push to assist him due to a mechanical issue. During the latest caution period, nearly the entire field led by Eckes pitted while some, including Justin Haley, Dawson Sutton, Frankie Muniz, Spencer Boyd, and Josh Reaume, remained on the track. Following the pit stops and with mixed pit strategies ensuing, Enfinger, who only opted for fuel for his entry, exited pit road first ahead of Riggs, Eckes, Chastain and Honeycutt, respectively.
With two laps remaining in the second stage period, Haley was pushed by Enfinger ahead of Sutton through the frontstretch before the field, including the front-runners, engaged in a three-wide battle for the lead. Amid the three-wide action through the backstretch, Eckes motored ahead with the lead and he retained the lead throughout the two-lap shootout.
When the first stage period conclude on Lap 30, Eckes captured his third Truck stage victory of the 2026 season. Brandon Jones settled in second ahead of Riggs, Enfinger, Honeycutt, Sawalich, Day, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Jake Garcia and Giovanni Ruggiero, respectively, while 32 of 36 competitors were scored on the lead lap.
The second stage period started on Lap 35 as Eckes and Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Eckes motored ahead with the lead from the inside lane as the field fanned out through the first two turns and the backstretch. As Riggs came storming through the runner-up spot, Eckes led the next lap while teammates Honeycutt and Jones battled for third place in front of Enfinger and Day.
On Lap 38, the caution returned due to Luke Baldwin’s No. 2 Team Reaume Chevrolet Silverado RST entry blowing up in smoke and flames through the frontstretch. Baldwin managed to steer his entry below the apron through the first two turns and park it before he exited under his own power. Following an extensive caution period, the event restarted on Lap 45. At the start, Eckes and Riggs battled for the lead in front of a stacked field before Riggs received a push from Jones to motor ahead. As Honeycutt tried to make a three-wide move, Eckes lost ground of the lead as Riggs led the next lap over Jones, Eckes and Honeycutt, respectively.
During Lap 46, the caution returned for a wild accident through the backstretch when Day, who was trying to fend off Giovanni Ruggiero for sixth place, got turned. Amid Day’s spin, his No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST entry briefly came off the ground before it landed back on the ground and pounded the inside wall hard on the driver’s left side. Day’s wrecked entry then slid back up the track and was hit by Mini Tyrrell while the rest of the field scattered to avoid the carnage. During the latest caution period, some including Ruggiero, Enfinger, Stenhouse, van Gisbergen, William Sawalich, Chandler Smith, Dawson Sutton, Frankie Muniz, Corey LaJoie, Kris Wright, Conner Jones and Leland Honeyman Jr. pitted while the rest led by Riggs remained on the track.
The start of the next restart on Lap 53 featured Riggs motoring ahead from the inside lane ahead of Eckes, where Riggs then threw a block on Eckes through the backstretch. As the field both scrambled and fanned out towards multiple lanes through the frontstretch, Riggs led the next lap over Eckes and Jones while Ross Chastain navigated his way up to fourth place in front of Daniel Hemric, Honeycutt and Ben Rhodes.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Riggs captured his second Truck stage victory of the 2026 season. Eckes followed suit in second ahead of Chastain, Hemric and Jones while Honeycutt, Friesen, Rhodes, Jake Garcia and Tyler Ankrum settled in the top 10, respectively. By then, 31 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap. During the event’s second stage break period, multiple competitors and front-runners led by Riggs and Eckes pitted while the rest led by Enfinger remained on the track.
With 68 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Enfinger and Connor Zilisch occupied the front row. At the start, Enfinger received a push from Ruggiero from the inside lane to motor ahead of Zilisch through the first two turns. Through the backstretch, Chastain and Honeyman Jr. made contact as Chastain nearly got loose while slipping through the backstretch’s infield. Chastain managed to keep his entry straight and proceed without drawing a caution despite sustaining a left-front tire rub. Another lap later, the caution returned due to Spencer Boyd spinning. At the time of caution, Ruggiero was leading ahead of Enfinger, Zilisch, Sawalich and Eckes, respectively.
The next restart with 62 laps remaining featured Ruggiero maintaining the lead form the inside lane ahead of Zilisch, Enfinger and a stacked field through the first two turns and the backstretch. As the field fanned out through Turns 3 and 4 before navigating back through the frontstretch, Ruggiero led the next two laps as the event reached its final 60-lap mark. Two laps later, the caution flew due to Leland Honeyman Jr. spinning below the apron entering the backstretch and hitting the inside wall on the driver’s left side.
During the latest caution period, a majority of the field led by Ruggiero pitted for service while some including Ankrum remained on the track. Ankrum and Sutton, both of whom did not pit, led the field to the next restart with 52 laps remaining. At the start, Ankrum was pushed by Riggs from the inside lane to motor ahead through the first two turns until Riggs used the outside lane and a push from Ross Chastain to assume the lead. As Riggs led the next lap, the field scrambled, fanned out and jostled for late positions while Zilisch, who was racing in the top 10, was penalized for a restart violation.
With less than 50 laps remaining, Riggs maintained a stable lead over a fierce battle for the runner-up spot that involves Chastain and Riggs. Behind, Chandler Smith occupied fourth place in front of Zilisch, Hemric and Ankrum while Friesen got loose and barely touched the outside wall entering the frontstretch. The caution then flew with 47 laps remaining due to Kris Wright and Brenden Queen wrecking against one another towards the frontstretch’s outside wall.
During the next restart with 40 laps remaining, Riggs and Eckes battled for the lead as the adverse condition rule came into effect with only 15 minutes left before the noon deadline loomed. Riggs initially had the advantage at the start before Eckes received a push from Honeycutt to overtake Riggs through the backstretch and lead for the next lap. Eckes maintained the lead until Riggs reassumed it with 12 minutes left. With 12 minutes left, Friesen spun through the frontstretch’s grass, but he nursed his entry to pit road without drawing a caution. Amid Friesen’s incident, Riggs maintained the lead over Eckes, Honeycutt, Chandler Smith and Chastain before the caution flew with 11 minutes remaining. The caution was for Andres Perez De Lara spinning as he entered the backstretch.
When the event restarted with four and a half minutes left on the clock, Riggs received a push from teammate Chandler Smith from the inside lane to motor ahead of Eckes and lead through the backstretch. Eckes then dropped out of the top-five mark, and the field scrambled through every turn and straightaway as Riggs maintained the lead with three minutes left over Honeycutt, Zilisch, and Chandler Smith.
Then, with less than three minutes left, the caution flew when Chandler Smith, who was dueling with Zilisch for third place, got loose as he slid up the track while nearly making contact with Zilisch, spun down the track, and hit the inside wall head-on. During the caution period, the noon deadline struck, and the event concluded under caution. This awarded Riggs, who sported his college UNC Charlotte on his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford F-150 entry, the victory over a hard-charging Honeycutt.
With the victory, Riggs, who dedicated his victory to the late two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, recorded his seventh NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career victory, his second of the 2026 season after he won at the Streets of St. Petersburg in mid-February, and his first at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Riggs’ Charlotte victory was also the third of the year for both Front Row Motorsports and Ford, with Ford achieving a Truck victory at Charlotte for a second time ever.
“I hope [Kyle Busch]’d be proud of that performance,” Riggs, who paid homage to Kyle Busch by performing Busch’s signature bow on the frontstretch and fought tears of emotions, said. “Our hearts are really heavy this weekend and just been trying to struggling with it a little bit, and just trying to have my game face on and right . Great job to everybody at Front Row Motorsports. Thank you so much to my teammate Chandler Smith. He stuck with me and pushed me [on that last restart]. Super proud of him and the strong performance we had today. This is a track that [Front Row Motorsports] and the Nos. 34 and 38 have struggled at for years. We really got to it on the Ford Racing Simulator. We went to work and we got it done. “
Kaden Honeycutt settled in second place while Connor Zilisch rallied from his late restart violation penalty to finish third. Ben Rhodes and Giovanni Ruggerio finished in the top five while Christian Eckes, Brandon Jones, Tanner Gray, Rick Stenhouse Jr., and William Sawalich completed the top 10 in the final running order.
There were 18 ead changes for nine different leaders. The event featured 11 cautions for 53 laps. In addition, 27 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 10th event of the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, Kaden Honeycutt leads the standings by 11 points over Layne Riggs, 71 over Christian Eckes, 75 over Giovanni Ruggiero, and 78 over Chandler Smith.
Results:
- Layne Riggs, 52 laps led, Stage 2 winner
- Kaden Honeycutt
- Connor Zilisch, one lap led
- Ben Rhodes
- Giovanni Ruggiero, 12 laps led
- Christian Eckes, 33 laps led, Stage 1 winner
- Brandon Jones, one lap led
- Tanner Gray
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- William Sawalich
- Daniel Hemric
- Corey LaJoie
- Jake Garcia
- Conner Jones
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Grant Enfinger, four laps led
- Justin Haley, three laps led
- Timmy Hill
- Andres Perez De Lara
- Tyler Ankrum, three laps led
- Travis Pastrana
- Dawson Sutton
- Leland Honeyman Jr.
- Frankie Muniz
- Spencer Boyd
- Stewart Friesen
- Cole Butcher
- Josh Reaume, one lap down
- Ross Chastain, three laps down
- Chandler Smith, four laps down
- Kris Wright – OUT, Accident
- Brenden Queen – OUT, Accident
- Ty Majeski, 59 laps down
- Mini Tyrrell – OUT, Accident
- Corey Day – OUT, Accident, one lap led
- Luke Baldwin – OUT, Engine
Next on the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee, for the Allegiance 200. The event is scheduled to occur next Friday, May 29, and air at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM.
