Layne Riggs won the Team EJP 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, August 22, clinching the No. 1 seed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chase for the Championship and entering the postseason with a points-lead advantage over the entire field. The victory was his sixth of the 2026 season and the 11th of his career across 72 starts. With the regular-season finale complete, all 10 Chase spots are now filled, and the seven-race title run has its full cast.
How Riggs Won at Loudon Despite Mid-Race Trouble
Riggs started from the pole and led a race-high 106 laps in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford F-150, but the afternoon was far from clean, according to Sports Illustrated.
A tight truck in the middle mid-part of the race gave his racing competition an opening. Connor Zilisch and Chandler Smith both moved past him, and Riggs openly admitted he feared he had lost control of the day.
“I thought I was off a little bit. I thought I was in trouble. Zilisch got by me, Chandler [Smith] got by me. I was just really, really tight. Couldn’t get it where I needed it. But my crew chief, Dylan Cappello, and engineer Jonathan Coates, they made some excellent, excellent changes at the end.”
Those adjustments proved decisive. Cappello and Coates corrected the handling, Riggs reclaimed the lead, and he then held off two overtime restarts before crossing the finish line ahead of teammate Chandler Smith by 0.293 seconds. Kaden Honeycutt came home third.
“Statement win. I mean, this is awesome.”
Riggs’ No. 1 Seed Draws Attention in the Outright Title Market
Zlatan Vukić, an iGaming compliance manager with roughly eight years of experience in the Croatian gambling industry, tracks how motorsports title races translate into outright pricing across regulated European markets. From that vantage, the finalized Truck Series Chase field and Riggs’ confirmed points-lead advantage as the No. 1 seed sharpen the picture considerably.
With a settled 10-driver roster now locked in and seven races remaining, the question of who wins the championship has defined edges. Vukić notes that kladionice u Hrvatskoj are where outright Truck Series title odds on Riggs and his rivals currently surface for followers of these playoff storylines.
“The No. 1 seed with a points advantage entering a defined seven-race window — that is a clear signal for any market trying to price a title. The field is settled, the bracket is set, and the numbers reflect that.”
The Full Chase Field and the Last-Berth Drama
Tyler Ankrum claimed the final spot in the 10-driver Chase by finishing 16th while managing brake issues in the closing laps. His troubles made for a tense finish to the regular season, particularly for Stewart Friesen, who crossed in fourth place, but fourth was not enough, and he narrowly missed the cut.
Connor Zilisch provided a notable footnote. He won both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Team EJP 175, collecting stage points throughout the afternoon, but did not win the race overall or advance to the Chase.
The full 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chase field is Layne Riggs, Kaden Honeycutt, Chandler Smith, Christian Eckes, Gio Ruggiero, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, Ben Rhodes, Daniel Hemric, and Tyler Ankrum.
Bristol Opens the Chase on September 17
The seven-race postseason begins at Bristol Motor Speedway with the UNOH 250 on Thursday, September 17. Coverage starts at 8:00 PM ET on FS1, with radio coverage provided by the NASCAR Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. It is a short track from the regular season to the playoffs, and Riggs made it clear he intends to use every inch of it.
“Let’s bring on the Chase. We only have seven [races] left. No mercy.”
The No. 1 seed, the points cushion, and a truck that found its footing after two overtime restarts — Riggs carries all of it into Bristol on September 17.
