Layne Riggs has been fast here before, fast enough to matter, fast enough to leave with the sense that the night should have ended differently. He’s been a front‑runner in each of the last two Truck Series races at North Wilkesboro, and both times the pace was there without the finish to match it. On Saturday, he’ll get another chance to settle that gap, and he’ll do it from the pole after a qualifying lap that put numbers behind the expectation he’s carried into this weekend.
Riggs’ run on Friday afternoon was the quickest of the session, a clean 18.502‑second lap around the 0.625‑mile short track that translated to a 121.608 mph average. It was enough to edge Carson Hocevar by 0.016 seconds, a margin small enough to show how tight the session was but large enough to give Riggs control of the front row.
The pole is his second of the season, his sixth in the Truck Series, and it comes as the 69th start of his career. The numbers line up with the form he’s shown all year, but the lap carried extra weight because it didn’t come from a truck that felt settled in practice. Riggs spent the earlier session fighting a tight condition that made the corners feel heavier than they should. His mock run didn’t offer much clarity, and he admitted afterward that he didn’t expect the pole to be in play.
The flashpoint came from decisions by crew chief Dylan Cappello to make adjustments that let Rigg’s truck get free enough to attack each lap with precision and opportunity. The result gives him the clean air he’s been missing when the race tightens, and it sets up a night where he’ll chase his fifth win of the season and the 10th of his Truck Series career.
The field behind him is strong enough to keep the pressure steady from the opening lap. Christopher Bell is poised to start P3, posting a lap within striking distance of the front row. Corey Heim, the defending series champion, rolls off P4. Gio Ruggiero, Chase Elliott, Kaden Honeycutt, Grant Enfinger, Chandler Smith, and Stewart Friesen round out the top ten, a group that has combined for 11 wins this season and has shown enough pace at short tracks to make the opening laps matter.
The spread from first to tenth in qualifying was just 0.322 seconds, a number that reflects how quickly the field will compress once the green flag drops. With 38 trucks attempting to qualify, two didn’t make the show. Landon Huffman and Timmy Hill missed the cut, each falling outside the time needed to advance.
The number wasn’t big enough to see with the naked eye, but it told the whole story. 0.074 seconds separated the last truck in from the first one out, the kind of razor‑thin split that turns qualifying into a knife fight, where a tenth sets your row, and a few hundredths decide whether you even get to roll onto the grid. Riggs will lead them to green, but the pole at North Wilkesboro doesn’t offer insulation. Restarts compress the field immediately. The lanes disappear.
The corners demand patience, and a driver who can maneuver openings rather than force them usually comes out ahead. Riggs has learned that here. He’s led 47 combined laps across his two previous starts at the track, but neither race ended with the finish he was positioned to earn. Saturday gives him another chance to change that pace into a result, and the numbers suggest he’ll have the speed to stay in control if he can manage the rhythm of the night.
The Faith Fest 250 will test that balance again. Riggs has been fast enough to win at North Wilkesboro. He’s been close enough to feel it. Now he’ll try again, starting from the spot every driver wants, but few can convert. The pole gives him the first advantage. The rest will be decided by how he handles the pressure that comes with leading at a track that rarely gives anyone a second chance.
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