Riggs Wins NH Truck Finale in Overtime After Capturing Pole
NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 22, 2026
Riggs wins pole
Layne Riggs won the Team EJP 175, the NASCAR Truck Series regular-season finale, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, and he did it from the pole. Riggs turned a 29.346-second lap at 129.789 mph in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford to claim his fourth pole of the season and the eighth of his career. That quick lap put him in the best starting spot before the green flag and gave him an early edge in a race that asked a lot from the leaders. Riggs then backed it up on the track, leading a race-high 106 laps and staying at the front through a finish that went to two overtime restarts. He had to manage a tight truck through the closing run, then still beat teammate Chandler Smith by 0.293 seconds at the line. The win was Riggs’ sixth of the season and sent him into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chase for the Championship as the No. 1 seed. In one afternoon, Riggs added another pole, another win and another reason he will enter the title chase as the driver to catch.
Honeycutt qualifies second
Kaden Honeycutt gave Riggs the closest challenge in qualifying, taking second with a lap of 29.569 seconds that left him 0.223 seconds behind. The margin was small, which showed how tight the front of the field was before the race even started. Riggs still owned the top line on the time sheet and carried that advantage into the event itself. Connor Zilisch also put together a strong showing at New Hampshire. He won Stages 1 and 2 and finished fifth, giving him two stage victories and a top-five result in the same race. That kind of output mattered because it kept him in the upper tier of the day’s performances even after the final restart discussion shifted to the leaders. Honeycutt’s qualifying run and Zilisch’s stage wins showed that speed was spread across the front of the field, but Riggs put together the cleanest overall day. He combined the fastest lap, the most laps led and the victory, which left little room for anyone else to claim the headline from Loudon.
Chase field set
The victory also settled the championship field. Tyler Ankrum finished 16th but still earned the final Chase berth, and the result set the 10-driver field for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title run. That meant the regular-season finale closed with the cutoff picture complete and the focus already moving to the next race. Riggs now goes in as the No. 1 seed after his sixth win of the season, a position that rewards both his qualifying speed and his ability to finish the job when the race went beyond regulation. The Chase opener is scheduled for Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, Sept. 17. The series now moves from Loudon to Bristol with the title chase in place and the top seed sitting with Riggs. Ankrum’s 16th-place finish was enough to secure the last spot, and that kept the full field intact for the opening round. Riggs left New Hampshire with the pole, the win and the top line in the championship standings.
