Riggs Wins a Double-Overtime Fight and the Truck Regular Season

Layne Riggs completed the Truck Series regular season the same way he spent most of it: controlling the race from the front. The pole winner led 106 of 189 laps in the Team EJP 175, held his lane through two overtime attempts and beat Front Row Motorsports teammate Chandler Smith to the line by 0.293 seconds.

The result was Riggs' sixth victory of 2026 and the 11th Truck Series win of his career. It also secured the regular-season championship and the top seed for the seven-race Chase. The scheduled 175-lap race needed 14 extra circuits, nine cautions and a final restart before the No. 34 Ford could finally take the checkered flag.

Smith finished second after starting 12th. Kaden Honeycutt recovered from an early concern about a possible tire problem to finish third. Stewart Friesen turned a late two-tire strategy call into fourth place and a temporary hold on the final Chase position, while Connor Zilisch completed the top five after sweeping the first two stages.

The field barely reached the start-finish line before the first caution. Luke Baldwin spun as the green flag fell, and the field checked up behind him. Riggs controlled the restart from the outside lane and established the early pace, but Zilisch stayed within reach and made the first green-flag pass for the lead on Lap 34.

Zilisch won Stage 1 at Lap 55 with Riggs second. Pit strategy then reshuffled the field. Jake Garcia took two tires and left pit road first, Smith moved past him on Lap 74, and Zilisch used the high lane to regain the lead on Lap 86. Zilisch won Stage 2 as well, followed by Smith and Riggs, giving the No. 71 Chevrolet the maximum 20 stage points.

The second stage break opened the strategic part of the race. Friesen emerged from pit road first, but Riggs worked back to the lead just as another caution came out on Lap 120. The next restart did not last long. Christopher Bell spun after contact from Smith on Lap 132, forcing another reset while Riggs continued to protect the front.

The Chase cutline became the second race on the track. Friesen entered New Hampshire 20 points behind Ankrum for the final position. By Lap 160, the margin had swung in Friesen's favor as he raced near the front and Ankrum dealt with brake trouble. When Gavan Boschele hit the outside wall on Lap 170, Friesen, Garcia and Ankrum stayed out, creating a direct strategy fight for the final berth.

Riggs chose the outside for the first overtime attempt. Giovanni Ruggiero spun beside him and collected Connor Mosack, with Christian Eckes and Dawson Sutton also taking contact. That caution forced a second overtime. Riggs again selected the outside, cleared the traffic and brought Smith, Honeycutt and Friesen home behind him.

Friesen's fourth-place finish was one of the strongest recoveries of the afternoon, but it was not enough to erase the deficit. His two-tire call briefly moved him above Ankrum on points. Ankrum made multiple pit stops while fighting brake issues, then stayed out before the first overtime and finished 16th. That was enough to claim the final Chase position.

Jake Garcia's path narrowed after a penalty for pitting outside the box during the Stage 2 intermission. Garcia recovered to 14th but joined Friesen outside the postseason field. Grant Enfinger, Ben Rhodes, Daniel Hemric and Ankrum secured the remaining open positions behind the drivers who had already clinched.

Riggs produced the highest FantasyJolt score at 72.6 points. His winning finish, 17 stage points and 10.6 points from laps led made him the clear Group A anchor. Zilisch finished fifth but ranked second in fantasy scoring at 64.5 points because the stage sweep, 55 laps led and fastest-lap bonus outweighed the lost finishing positions.

Smith scored 58 points after advancing from 12th to second, placing in both stages and leading 10 laps. Bell and Hemric reached 48 and 46 points despite finishing seventh and eighth because both collected meaningful stage points. Friesen's four laps led and Stage 2 point brought his total to 40.4.

The salary cap decided the final construction. Riggs, Zilisch and Friesen used $41, leaving only $9 for the final two slots. Mini Tyrrell finished 23rd and supplied 18 points at $5. Patrick Emerling scored six points at $4, completing a legal $50 lineup. Ordered from Group A through Group E, those five drivers scored 347.18 multiplied points.

The saved projection lineup of Riggs, Bell, Hemric, Emerling and Spencer Boyd performed well despite missing Zilisch and Friesen. It scored 310.7 points, or 89.49% of the perfect total. The largest low-cost misses were Haley's run from 25th to ninth, Corey LaJoie's move from 24th to 15th and Parker Eatmon's climb from 18th to 10th.

Inactive nonstarters remained outside the canonical 36-truck result field and correctly received zero in saved FantasyJolt lineups. That boundary mattered in a week with five official DNQs and multiple driver changes before qualifying.

The lineup used the full $50 cap and scored 347.18 points.

The Truck Series opens its Chase at Bristol Motor Speedway. Riggs enters as the regular-season champion with six wins, while Smith and Honeycutt leave New Hampshire with another reminder that Front Row and TRICON have the pace to challenge him. Friesen and Garcia are out of the driver Chase, but both remain eligible to shape the seven-race title run through race wins and owner points.

• 106 laps led: Riggs' race-high total.
• 55 laps led: Zilisch's total while sweeping both stages.
• 0.293 seconds: Riggs' official margin over Smith.
• 189 laps: Fourteen beyond the scheduled distance after double overtime.
• Nine cautions: Covering 56 laps.
• Six lead changes: Shared among five drivers.
• 30.270 seconds: Zilisch's verified fastest green-flag lap, set on Lap 21.
• 347.18 points: The perfect FantasyJolt lineup on the $50 cap.