Layne Riggs’ gamble pays off with NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national title

Almost nothing has occur effortless for Layne Riggs from the second his car racing occupation commenced.

A veteran in late product inventory motor vehicle competitors despite being just 20, the 2nd-generation competitor from Bahama, North Carolina, has fought for every victory with a small procedure, all although ready for the proper option to observe in his father Scott Riggs’ footsteps as a driver in one of NASCAR’s top a few divisions.

The conclusion to wager on himself by heading for a NASCAR Advance Auto Areas Weekly Sequence title paid out off for Riggs, who joined a prolonged list of noteworthy nationwide champions with a stellar year that saw him claim 16 victories at five tracks, as well as a observe championship at Virginia’s South Boston Speedway.

Heading for the national championship was tough for Riggs on several fronts. He admitted getting capable to replicate on and cherish what he attained in 2022 with his workforce has been equivalent elements cathartic and validating.

“It’s been fantastic to celebrate with my crew and bask in our glory,” Riggs reported. “In the minute when we were being winning all the races, it was tricky to celebrate anything at all, as we experienced to concentrate on the subsequent day of racing. You could not take pleasure in the time, but we experienced a substantial staff social gathering, and it was good to share stories and celebrate what we did, especially since we’ll almost certainly under no circumstances do this all over again.”

Relevant: Remaining NASCAR Advance Auto Sections Weekly Sequence standings

Even even though he has a acquainted previous identify, Riggs does not see himself a great deal distinctive than the blue-collar motorists who dominate limited tracks along the East Coast.

Most of the crew customers who guide the Riggs spouse and children with their late design inventory car or truck program are volunteers, all of whom have labored tirelessly to retain the cars aggressive with other prime-tier companies that include things like JR Motorsports and Sellers Racing Inc.

Becoming a pupil at UNC Charlotte only served to complicate issues for Riggs as he poured each individual ounce of electrical power into defeating defending Weekly Series winner Peyton Sellers, but he managed to locate the fantastic stability by frequently speaking with his team about what he necessary to be comfortable in his automobile.

The maturity and composure Riggs desired to remain concentrated amid his hectic routine came about by perfecting his race craft versus a lot of talented competition, which incorporated existing NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Josh Berry, Bobby McCarty, Deac McCaskill and Jared Fryar.

With out those people folks to lean on in his developmental period of time, Riggs thinks he would by no means have gotten close to the Weekly Series crown.

“This past time served as my final exam for late product inventory racing,” Riggs claimed. “I’ve figured out so substantially from all the veterans out there, but I experienced to use all the information. You don’t seriously see that advancement till you seem back and see all the methods you’ve created, but each aspect of myself has gotten far better.”

In the center of his pursuit for the national championship, Riggs eventually acquired the prospect to make his NASCAR nationwide series debut by signing a 3-race deal with Halmar Friesen Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Riggs squandered no time demonstrating the broader NASCAR lover foundation the talent he possesses. Through his very first race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, immediately after beginning 23^rd, Riggs patiently climbed his way as a result of the field and challenged several of the very best drivers in the Truck Series before in the end settling for a seventh-position finish.

The subsequent two Truck Sequence appearances for Riggs saw him carry above the momentum from his general performance at IRP. Even though he did not eclipse his vocation-very best finish, Riggs certified fourth at Richmond Raceway and 2nd for the year finale at Phoenix Raceway, exactly where he led five laps just after passing eventual Truck Sequence champion Zane Smith shortly just after the preliminary commence.

Riggs is at this time functioning on securing the needed funding to compete in the Truck Sequence full-time in 2023. Details are nevertheless getting sorted out, but Riggs hopes to at the very least get acceptance for the opener at Daytona Intercontinental Speedway prior to viewing how the relaxation of the year turns out from a fiscal standpoint.

Relevant: Occupation stats for Layne Riggs

A extra lively existence in the Truck Collection signifies Riggs will move on from the willpower that formed him into the driver he is nowadays, but he even now plans to contend in a handful of late model stock motor vehicle events when he has free of charge time.

“I’ll probably do the Josh Berry plan in which I race [late model stocks] on off weekends,” Riggs explained. “There will not be a set routine, so I obviously won’t be running for any championships, but you’ll certainly see me at some short tracks just owning enjoyable.”

Riggs hopes the good results and notoriety he liked in 2022 is a favourable sign for other blue-collar racers on the lookout to crack into NASCAR’s best ranks.

Through his late model stock motor vehicle vocation, Riggs has occur across a good deal of drivers he understands would excel in NASCAR’s top series if provided the suitable option. Possessing been in that crowd himself, Riggs would like to see those same veterans stick to a similar path, and he thinks ongoing modifications in the business may possibly just one working day allow for them to do so.

For now, Riggs intends to symbolize the Southeast limited monitor sector as each a Weekly Collection winner and a Truck Series competitor. He anticipates a demanding finding out curve throughout his to start with year in the division, specifically when it will come to figuring out aerodynamics and heading up towards the diverse Truck Sequence roster.

“In the late product environment, you have your pick out veterans that are generally up at the entrance racing just about every other,” Riggs mentioned. “When you go to the Truck Collection, there are so lots of extra of them. The very best from the grassroots produced it to the Truck Collection, so there’s going to be a ton of competition. I felt like I was the very best in my space, so I consider I’m up to the process.”

Loads of hurdles lie in advance for Riggs as he transitions into a new section of his vocation, but he is all set to embrace the pending adversity and demonstrate that his nationwide championship is the initially of lots of NASCAR accomplishments to arrive.