Layne Riggs wins Bristol Truck Series Playoff race, advances to Round of 8

A big win for Layne Riggs and yet another Bristol win for Front Row Motorsports in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The Riggs and Corey Heim rivalry is continuing. If anyone wins the championship this year, it has to be one of these two drivers.

Three wins on the year for Layne Riggs. He is once again starting to put it together at the end of the season. Riggs has won the Bristol Truck Series Night Race for two years in a row now. His short track skills were on full display tonight.

When it came to this race, it was dominated by Riggs and Heim. They combined to lead for 232 laps tonight. Only 18 laps were led by other drivers. Riggs is a legacy talent in NASCAR and showed once again he has a bright future ahead of him in the sport.

First lap: Spin

Last lap: Win

Layne Riggs works his way from the back to the front for a NASCAR Truck Series victory at Bristol! https://t.co/nktltWGqjs pic.twitter.com/tbJRSvJzEZ

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) September 12, 2025

Corey Heim had a really fast truck tonight. However, in the long run and on pit road, he didn’t stack up to the other top drivers. Ben Rhodes managed to have a great race tonight and looked like he might pull off the upset win. Riggs hit the Turn 3 wall on the last lap, and Rhodes made up half a second on the 34 truck. It wasn’t meant to be as the Front Row driver held on to win.

With Chandler Smith having issues yet again, he’s 24 points below the cutline. Entering this season, you would have thought he would be a championship contender. And he was for much of the year. Corey Heim has dominated, but Smith has won twice this season and been fairly consistent.

If Smith is eliminated after New Hampshire, that’s going to truly make this a two-driver championship race. Heim has been having a historic season. I think most people in NASCAR would like to see him win the championship. But Layne Riggs is trying to play upset and take it from Heim. With performances like tonight, you have to like his chances if he makes it to Phoenix.

Tonight was a rollercoaster for the 34 team. Riggs spun on Lap 1 of this race. It was a scary moment that could have tanked his position in the points standings if it had been worse. However, the pit crew got him back out on the track and he made the most of it.

Tonight, the race came down to tire management and pit road. The 34 team did a great job on both, with Layne Riggs showing his short track instincts and keeping those tires saved up.

Everyone knows Corey Heim has dominated this season. Can Layne Riggs spoil the party and keep Heim, once again, from winning the Truck Series championship?