Second-generation NASCAR driver Layne Riggs, 22, was the surprise winner of the playoff opener at the Milwaukee Mile on Aug. 25 as the Craftsman Truck Series will run at Bristol Motorspeedway tonight.
The son of former Cup regular and five-time trucks winner Scott Riggs held off championship contender Ty Majeski for his first career victory - impressive considering he wasn’t part of the 10-team playoff field. Riggs dislocated his shoulder celebrating his landmark victory before the team popped it back into place.
Christian Eckes leads Ty Majeski by 16 points, Corey Heim by 19 and Nicholas Sanchez by 26 in the standings. Ben Rhodes and Rajah Caruth are behind the cut line, ninth and 10th in the standings.
The Truck Series kicks off Bristol’s tripleheader weekend of same-day practice, qualifying and night racing for each national touring series.
The entries include IndyCar Series driver Marco Andretti, who will make his seventh career Trucks start in the No. 04 Chevrolet for Roper Racing. Sprint car rising star Corey Day will debut in the first of four scheduled starts this fall for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in the No. 81 Chevrolet. Connor Zilisch, 18, is coming off a debut win in the Xfinity Series at Watkins Glen and will make his third Truck series in the Spire Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet.
The playoff field will be cut from 10 to eight after Bristol and Kansas.
The XFinity Series races tomorrow night and the Cup Series is under the lights Saturday for the cutoff race in the round of 16.
