Layne Riggs fielded a question during Craftsman Truck Series Chase Media Day last week about the struggles of No. 1 seeds in the Cup Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He laughed, hoping to avoid a jinx, but recognized the trend.
“I think that it shows 25 points is nothing, even though it sounds like it’s a decent lead,” he said.
Nothing, indeed.
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Riggs, who entered The Chase presented by Mobil 1 as top dog, saw 22 points vanish from his series advantage in a 32nd-place finish, his worst in more than two seasons, last Thursday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Leading the first 135 laps, Riggs dropped to sixth after a slow stop during the Stage 2 break. He climbed back to third on the ensuing restart, but reported a loose wheel and made an unexpected visit to pit road, falling two laps down. Riggs later suffered extensive damage on his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford after a run-in with Nick Leitz, forcing another stop and costing him more laps.
But he wasn’t the only Chaser who suffered opening-race issues.
Eight of the 10 championship-eligible drivers had some type of issue over 250 laps in East Tennessee, including each of the top seven seeds. Gio Ruggiero finished sixth as the highest-finishing Chase driver, marking the first time in series history that no postseason driver finished inside the top five.
Despite the widespread turbulence, seven drivers gained points on Riggs, who still leads the tailgaters heading into Saturday’s race at Kansas Speedway (1 p.m. ET, FS1, FOX One, NASCAR Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Kaden Honeycutt reaped the greatest reward, cutting his deficit to just three — but Bristol likely left him wondering “what if?” The No. 11 Tricon Garage driver made an unplanned trip to pit road with under 40 to go, reporting a vibration while running third. He recovered to finish eighth, but the Texan could’ve left “The Last Great Colosseum” with the points lead — and then some — had he won.
But it’s a solid dent — and the top two are now the closest they’ve been in points since Bristol in the spring. It also marks the first time two drivers are within 30 points of the series lead since Texas in May.
The other? Chandler Smith, who shaved off five points despite finishing 24th. He suffered a flat tire in practice, had a speeding penalty at the end of Stage 2 and capped his night with another flat with seven to go. The result was just his fifth finish outside the top 20 — but came at the most inopportune time.
The postseason peril extended even further down the standings.
Christian Eckes dropped four spots in points, losing 18 points to Riggs in the standings after finishing 30th with no stage points. He made contact with Grant Enfinger, another Chaser, on Lap 40 and pounded the wall, forcing a trip to pit road and losing several laps. Speaking of Enfinger, he also suffered damage in the melee, but salvaged a top 10.
Ruggiero and 2024 Truck Series champion Ty Majeski both spun in fluid on Lap 170. Ben Rhodes had a pit-road penalty on Lap 135.
No two issues were alike, yet they all had some type of impact on The Chase, tightening the top five even more than when it started.
But these guys expected that in Thunder Valley.
“Bristol is pretty changing, for sure. It can make or break your Chase,” Honeycutt said.
“It’s going to be a hectic race for sure. I think everybody’s going to race each other hard,” Ruggiero said before Bristol.
“Some of these guys that haven’t been in this position before, you can lose it very quickly by being aggressive as well. It’s still a lot of racing and if anything from the last couple of weeks has taught us is that you can lose points very quickly,” Rhodes explained.
Now comes Kansas, where the stakes continue rising. And history shows it’ll be just as exciting as Bristol. Each of the last three fall races has featured a pass for the win in the final two laps. But who will find themselves in contention — and wipe away last week in the process?
Two full-time drivers finished inside the top five in each of the previous two intermediates this season. Honeycutt has top-three finishes at both Texas and Charlotte Motor Speedway. The other: Rhodes, whose fourth-place effort at Charlotte is his best finish over the last 12 events. Could this be where he finally ends a three-year winless drought?
Two others have top 10s in both. Riggs won Charlotte earlier this season and placed sixth at Texas. Eckes, who now has a mighty hole to climb out of at minus-58, has a sixth and an eighth in his return season at McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. But he’s yet to win.
Smith is shockingly absent from that list, managing a 10th-place effort at Texas and then finishing 30th at Charlotte after a late crash. He has not led a lap on an intermediate this season, and came home 17th in this race last year following a pit-road penalty. Ruggiero, meanwhile, led laps at both Texas and Charlotte, but only has fifth- and 14th-place finishes to show for it.
So will Kansas stabilize or further shake up the Truck Series title picture?
Because just as Riggs said, those 25 points are nothing.