Layne Riggs answered back on his misfortune at Kansas with his 7th Craftsman Truck Series win of 2026 in the final laps of the Ecosave 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. For much of the season, Riggs has led the overall Truck standings, and it looks like he’s further staking his claim to the championship. The Front Row Motorsports driver battled Kaden Honeycutt until lap 128, then saw an opening, made the pass, took control of the race, and put the No. 34 in victory lane with only 6 laps to go.
But Riggs made it look easier than it was, even though he was working hard behind the wheel to keep up with the pace leaders. This move ultimately paid off and helped him work his way from a 13th-place start to an early stage 1 win, though Honeycutt took stage 2. The No. 11 Toyota led 85 of 134 laps, and Riggs led 47. That gap made Riggs’s final-run strategy critical. He knew he needed to close on Honeycutt, and it was clear he wouldn’t settle for another strong finish.
An accident involving multiple trucks and a red flag had already interrupted the race, leaving both drivers with a short window to decide the outcome once the green flag dropped again. On the final run, Riggs stayed within striking distance of Honeycutt until he was ready to make his move. Honeycutt was the driver to beat for much of the race, but trouble took him out of contention on lap 128.
As he approached Turn 4, Honeycutt’s No. 11 Toyota hit the outside wall, giving Riggs the opening he needed to take the lead, and the rest was history. Christian Eckes followed into P2, but Riggs held on through the final laps to secure the win by 0.569 seconds. Honeycutt finished P3, further underscoring how quickly the race changed after he appeared to control the field.
The win at Charlotte Motor Speedway was especially valuable after Riggs’ P19 finish, which came after contact with the wall trampled his chances of finishing at the top. Charlotte gave him the chance to make up those lost points, and he did. Honeycutt remains ahead in the championship standings, but the Charlotte win tightened the gap to 17 points with four races remaining in the Chase.
With the points gap tightening, Friday night’s result could prove pivotal in the championship fight. Riggs has won seven races this season, but there’s still a lot of ground to make up before the pathway to the championship is clear. Charlotte gave him a much-needed result and brought him closer to Honeycutt. Now, the pressure shifts to whether he can keep closing the gap before the series heads to Homestead for the title.
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