Layne Riggs, When's Inaugural Truck race in Saint Petersburg FL

Saturday featured another NASCAR doubleheader. First, the NASCAR Truck Series made its debut at the St. Petersburg street course. The race was unexpectedly clean yet thrilling from the start to the finish. Layne Riggs secured his first victory of the 2026 season.

This win marks Riggs' sixth career victory. It was a much-needed performance after a challenging start at the Daytona and Atlanta superspeedways, where he finished 31st and 27th in the first two races of the season. However, today, he delivered a commanding performance, leading a race-high 40 laps and winning Stage 2.

The victory held special significance due to the setting. Primarily recognized as a short-track racer, Riggs mentioned that the win affirmed his efforts to become more versatile behind the wheel.

“First thing I’m going to say, thank you to Joey Hand. I know he’s watching at home. My road course guy. He’s the man,” Riggs remarked after the race. “He helped me immensely. We’ve been working on this race track in the simulator at Ford Racing since December. I really, really wanted to achieve my first win on a road course.

“The short-track guy from Bahama, North Carolina, won at St. Pete. Can you believe it? I’ve been striving to perfect my craft. I said this year I just want to win a road course to prove I’m not just that short-track guy.”

In the end, Riggs’ performance wasn’t just fast, but strategic. Late in the race, fuel became a major concern, forcing him to manage both his pace and his lines through the corners as the laps wound down.

“It sputtered with about eight to go,” Riggs explained. “The pickup on these trucks is on the left side, so every time I turned left the fuel would slosh away. The whole time I was just trying to keep it running and manage the gap.”