Flat Tires Derail Riggs' Truck Title Push In Homestead Finale
Layne Riggs finished second in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points Friday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (David Rosenblum/Nigel Kinrade Photography)
By Justin Glenn, SWN Staff Writer
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Nov. 6, 2026) – The early trouble that found Layne Riggs at Homestead-Miami Speedway Friday night was a microcosm of his 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chase.
Once again in the postseason, mounting potential turned into a disappointing result, ultimately leaving Riggs short of a Truck Series title after a career year.
A lap-15 flat tire ended Riggs’ championship quest early in stage one, as he needed a win to beat rival Kaden Honeycutt, who had a 20-point advantage entering the season finale.
That compounded into a second flat in stage two, ultimately burying Riggs six laps down in 32nd at the finish and 83 points adrift of Honeycutt when all was said and done.
“I’m kind of just thinking about the year we had, the success that we had,” said Riggs, who won a series-high seven races in 2026. “Obviously we weren;’t able to put the consistency together to be champions tonight. We knew we were going to have to run an almost perfect race. That’s hard to do anytime, any series, any level and division.
“But I’m just proud of the entire team that we were even in the mix [in 2026]. We had a chance to become champions,” he said. It was disappointing to know I didn’t even know what my truck was going to be.”
On lap two, Riggs was battling Nick Sanchez for fourth place. The two came off of turn two and entered the backstretch jockeying for position after the initial start. Sanchez ran half a lane lower off the outside wall, as Riggs expected him to be higher.
Riggs’ No. 34 faded up, the two made contact, and Riggs was left with right-rear fender damage that led to a significant tire rub.
“After that initial contact, I don’t know what happened with [Sanchez]. I thought I was good,” said Riggs. “They [Riggs’ team] said we were close together. I got super free up under him. Next thing I knew, we got a tire down. Tire pressures weren’t even up yet. We didn’t know the balance at the end of the race.”
In the ensuing 13 laps, Riggs' tire then came apart. The Homestead asphalt famous for gruesome tire wear chewed and corded the wounded tire of Riggs’ Ford F-150. The No. 34 team pulled out the right fender during an unscheduled green-flag pit stop and applied Bear-Bond tape to the rear deck lid.
During the service, they changed four tires and put Riggs on offense to try and limit bleeding even more time to then-leader Corey Heim.
Riggs mowed through the field to try and get back to just one lap down, and came within half a straightaway of passing Heim. However, stage one concluded before he could reach then third-running Honeycutt. Riggs took the wave-around to stay on 13-lap old tires and avoided pitting during the stage break.
But, tire troubles struck again in stage two on lap 45. He had to pit for another right rear flat, and lost three more laps to the leaders.
The 24-year-old then sped on pit road during the emergency stop, leading to a green flag drive-through penalty. The deficit grew to seven laps. His seven-week, head-to-head duel with Honeycutt had officially ended before the night really set in.
Honeycutt stayed inside the top five and ultimately won the Homestead finale. The title anxiety that Riggs applied early became an 83-point deficit as Honeycutt clinched his first Truck Series crown.
Riggs entered the postseason seeded first after six regular season wins. He swept both street races at West-Central Florida’s St. Petersburg in February and Naval Base Coronado in San Diego in June.
The Bahama, N.C., native dominated the summer from May to in August, with four wins in seven races between the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway rounds.
Once the postseason came, Riggs’ execution took a downturn, while Honeycutt’s consistency was paramount. To open the Chase in September, bad finishes occurred at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. It later proved to be a deciding factor.
Riggs finished 32nd at Bristol, after a loose wheel ruined a strong day. At Kansas he forced the issue late for a win battling Honeycutt, where he later got into the wall and cut a tire to finish 19th.
During that stretch, Honeycutt finished eighth at Bristol and scored 45 points. He swept both stages and won Kansas. September erased Riggs’ 25-point advantage from his regular season championship, as Honeycutt took over the points lead. Honeycutt needed to elevate his performance, and he did.
In October, Riggs won Charlotte, scored two third-place finishes, and finished eighth at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Oct. 23.
Honeycutt matched that with his own win Oct. 16 at Phoenix Raceway, but Riggs wasn’t able to find victory lane following Charlotte on Oct. 9. The two traded blows the entire season as they separated themselves above their competition.
At Martinsville, Riggs put himself 20 points back and still with a fighting chance by finishing third and leading 156 laps, with Honeycutt struggling to 14th.
That rebound wasn’t enough, however, when Homestead was basically an all-or-nothing finale.
“Regroup, be better, look at all the positives that with have. Excited for next year,” said Riggs, speaking of his offseason outlook. “I have made solid progression every year I’ve been in the Truck Series. I’m still progressing and maturing every race as a driver.”
Riggs set new career-highs all season, with seven wins, five poles, and 988 laps led. He tied his high-water mark in top fives at 13, and fell just one short of matching his best in top 10s at 15. He finished second in the driver’s standings, another career-best after placing fifth in 2025.
The late model graduate is now one of the faces of the Truck Series. He will return to Front Row Motorsports in the No. 34 in 2027, but did express interest in making his Cup Series debut sometime next year.
But Friday night was a missed opportunity at a crown, even if Riggs wasn’t looking at it that way in the immediate aftermath.
“I'm not going to put a bad look on the entire year just from this one race when we knew it was going to be a ‘Hail Mary’ to get it done anyway,” said Riggs.
“Congratulations to [Honeycutt and the No. 11 team]. They had a consistent season. Hopefully we can do it next year.”
The 2027 NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series season begins Feb. 19 at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway with the Fresh From Florida 250 on FOX Sports, the NASCAR Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90. Start times will be announced at a later date.
