Kansas Truck Preview: Riggs and Honeycutt Seek a Clean Response

Layne Riggs left Bristol with the championship lead, but almost all of his cushion was gone. Kansas now gives the Truck Series' leading contenders a chance to recover from an opening Chase race in which none of them reached the top five.

Saturday's Race to Stop Suicide 200 is the second race of the postseason. Riggs leads Kaden Honeycutt by just three points, and 36 trucks are entered. That makes this more than a routine change from a short track to a 1.5-mile oval: the two drivers at the top have an immediate opportunity to turn the championship in opposite directions.

Riggs won both Bristol stages before pit trouble, a vibration and a late crash left him 32nd. Honeycutt also experienced a vibration after running second in the stages, but recovered to eighth. Chandler Smith's night included a speeding penalty and wheel trouble; Christian Eckes lost his opportunity in contact with Grant Enfinger. As Motorsport.com's Matt Weaver reported, the contenders' problems compressed the championship with six races remaining.

The distinction for Kansas is between speed and execution. Riggs' stage sweep showed that a poor finish did not mean his truck was slow. Honeycutt salvaged more from his difficulty, but both teams have reason to prioritize clean stops and keeping their trucks in contention throughout the afternoon. A fast first stage will have limited value if another problem consumes the final one.

Smith sits 30 points behind Riggs, close enough to benefit if the leaders stumble again. That position also makes him a useful comparison with his teammate: FantasyJolt prices Smith one dollar lower, creating a meaningful lineup choice between two Front Row Motorsports contenders.

Jake Garcia does not need a championship position to disrupt the contenders. His first Truck victory came at Bristol in his 94th start, and he earned the final lead back from Stewart Friesen with an inside pass on Lap 230. He then held on while Bayley Currey took second from Friesen near the finish. Garcia had to respond after losing the lead on a restart.

Kansas asks a different question of that momentum. Garcia's Bristol success does not automatically establish his pace on a much larger oval, but it makes his $10 FantasyJolt salary worth a close look. Friesen at $9 offers a second midrange option, allowing a lineup to include recent front-runners without spending premium money in every position.

The No. 5 TRICON Toyota that Currey drove to second at Bristol has Brent Crews entered at Kansas. The official entry list also puts Nick Sanchez in Spire's No. 77. Those changes matter when a familiar truck number appears on the salary board; last week's driver performance is not interchangeable with this week's selection.

Brennan Poole takes Spire's No. 7 for his first Truck appearance since 2023. He has made four previous Kansas Truck starts, including two 12th-place finishes. His $11 price warrants evaluation after practice rather than an assumption that the equipment guarantees a particular result.

Conor Daly is back in Kaulig's No. 25 Ram. He described Kansas as a very different setup challenge from his earlier Indianapolis Raceway Park outing, emphasizing its long, fast corners. Watch how quickly these occasional entries find a workable balance Friday.

The session times follow NASCAR's weekend schedule, and the race distance is 134 laps. This September 24 preview precedes both practice and qualifying. Starting positions and on-track speed remain open questions.

Riggs leads the September 23 FantasyJolt pre-practice projections. Honeycutt is next, with Smith close enough that the one-dollar saving can materially change the remaining three selections. Sanchez offers another $13 alternative, but check the No. 77's actual Kansas practice performance before giving an early projection too much weight.

These estimates use historical data through August. They do not yet include Kansas sessions, and September performances such as Garcia's Bristol win need separate consideration. Leland Honeyman's projection also rests on only two eligible prior completion races; his $7 price should not conceal that limited sample. The published estimates are a starting point for comparison, not calibrated guarantees.

Total: $50; projected score: 303.46, calculated before rounding individual contributions. This example pairs the championship leaders with two drivers who finished near the front at Bristol, then uses a minimum-salary fifth driver to make the budget work.

That final choice carries the largest compromise. Breidinger's 18.26-point projection is substantially lower than the other four, and her low price alone does not make her a dependable selection. Replacing Honeycutt with Smith saves one dollar; moving farther down the premium list frees more to reconsider the fifth position. Compare complete five-driver constructions after Friday's sessions.

FantasyJolt uses a $50 cap and five drivers, with multipliers descending from 2.0x in A to 1.0x in E. Standard scoring does not award place-differential points, so starting near the back is not an automatic fantasy advantage. The task is to buy finishing strength, stage points and opportunities to lead, then give the largest multipliers to the drivers most likely to deliver them.