DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Layne Riggs took a moment to bask in the scenery and reflect on his journey when the Front Row Motorsports hauler pulled into Daytona International Speedway for the opening weekend of the 2024 season.
There were many days when Riggs was unsure whether he would ever make a trip to Daytona as a driver. His time in short tracks around the southeast was always a fight for survival with a finite number of resources, but Riggs never wasted an opportunity to showcase his talent.
A long, meticulous grind finally translated into Riggs earning a ride with Front Row Motorsports’ NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series program for the entire 2024 season. The feeling of a secured future is new for Riggs, but one he cherished in the hours leading up to his first Daytona start.
“I just can’t believe I’m here,” Riggs said. “It’s amazing. I’m in awe to just be at Daytona. That’s where I’ve wanted to be the past 10 years of my racing career, and I’m so thankful and fortunate everything worked out for me to get my first full-time ride.”
With a resume that includes a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series title in 2022 and six zMAX CARS Tour victories, Riggs has long possessed the capability to be an efficient competitor at the national level.
The one factor that always held him back from progressing through the developmental ladder was finances.
Riggs worked tirelessly alongside his father in former NASCAR Cup Series driver Scott Riggs to maintain a competitive edge against Late Model Stock programs with more funding. Despite their success together, Riggs knew he would need to branch out if he wanted to keep his NASCAR dreams alive.
[caption id="attachment_420776" align="alignnone" width="1500"]A handful of starts with Halmar Friesen Racing in the Truck Series near the end of 2022 season gave Riggs his first major national exposure. He earned a top 10 in his debut at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and led laps in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, but the opportunity did not materialize into a ride for the following year.
Riggs resigned himself to running Late Model Stocks again after a grueling campaign for the national championship, determined to keep working hard with the goal of earning at least a part-time ride in top-tier equipment.
That opportunity manifested in the form of 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, who took notice of Riggs’ driving ability when he bested him in a CARS Tour race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
“Kevin Harvick called me the morning after North Wilkesboro and told me that I ran pretty good,” Riggs said. “He said he wouldn’t be able to run the late model a lot to get it better for when he was going to build a full-time team. He wanted me to take it to Caraway [Speedway] the following weekend and see what I could do.”
Just like he did so many times before, Riggs took full advantage of the chance provided to him by parking Harvick’s No. 62 in Victory Lane at Caraway. A technical infraction led to Riggs getting disqualified, but his performance from that evening served as validation as to why Harvick selected him for that car.
The overturned victory still served as a major turning point for Riggs’ 2023 season. Along with getting three more Late Model Stock races lined up with Harvick, Riggs returned to IRP in the Truck Series with Spire Motorsports while also procuring a three-race deal in Kaulig Racing’s NASCAR Xfinity Series program.
The mindset was clear for Riggs during that stretch, nothing was guaranteed, but everything could be earned.
“It was all about fighting for the next opportunity, even if it’s a part-time ride,” Riggs said. “You could get another one-off deal just because you did well in the last one. That’s how I’ve always had to do things at the national level. Every race could be your last.”
[caption id="attachment_420778" align="alignnone" width="1500"]Riggs bested his top 10 at IRP from 2022 by recording a third-place finish with Spire. The Xfinity Series starts were far less procedural, as Riggs was involved in multiple incidents at Texas Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway but still did not tally a finish outside of the top 20.
The determination displayed by Riggs to persevere through adversity at Texas and Martinsville was paramount toward his future. Each of those races highlighted Riggs’ best attributes as a driver while simultaneously showing just how valuable he could be to a team owner looking for a well-rounded competitor.
Closing out on the deal to race full-time with Front Row Motorsports in the Truck Series after years of tribulations was one of the most cathartic moments of Riggs’ life.
“There was excitement, but more relief than anything else,” Riggs said. “There was all this stress, tension, and unknowns we’ve had for so many years over whether or not we were going to make it. When I finally realized I had signed my first deal, it was a dream come true.”
Now that he has achieved his lifelong goal of making it to NASCAR’s top ranks, Riggs has no intention of growing complacent.
The first laps for Riggs in the draft at Daytona were a completely new experience. Despite having some drafting laps at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Riggs said being in a pack at Daytona taught him to be light on the gas and how to turn into the corner.
Riggs knows he's more than capable of picking up where Zane Smith left off in the No. 38 for Front Row Motorsports. He does not expect anything to come easy with the competitive depth in the Truck Series, but Riggs said he can obtain a second title for Front Row Motorsports if he builds momentum with every race.
A full year of racing is ahead Riggs after Daytona, and he intends to do everything possible to showcase his gratitude to Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins and general manager Jerry Freeze for allowing him to drive their truck.
Riggs extended his gratitude to everyone in his life that supported him through all the positives and negatives from the moment his career began. The journey to NASCAR might have been slightly longer than he expected, but getting rewarded for his relentless effort made the entire process worthwhile.
“Hard work does pay off,” Riggs said. “Everything they say about ‘don’t give up’ is true. I was getting close to graduating college, and things weren’t culminating the way I wanted them to, so I was debating on stepping away from driving for a while. When you’re at the lowest of lows, something like this can just pop up out of nowhere.
“Keep your nose down, and things will pay off if you show the work.”
Daytona might not have ended in a trip to Victory Lane for Riggs, but he departed the facility with plenty of pride knowing his once uncertain outlook in motorsports had been replaced with a promising future.