Riggs wins second straight Truck Series race in UNOH 200

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Layne Riggs made it two in a row in the NASCAR Truck Series on Thursday at Bristol Motor Speedway.The driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford made an aggressive pass on the outside to get by leader Corey Heim and went on to win the UNOH 200 at the "World's Fastest Half-Mile." It was his second straight win in the Truck Series, after his August 25 victory at the Milwaukee Mile.It was the 22-year-old North Carolina racer's second win on a Tri-Cities concrete track. The son of former NASCAR Cup Series driver Scott Riggs won a 2018 late model race for the CARS Tour at Kingsport Speedway."We've learned so much with the cars and trucks," Riggs said. "We're a young team with the average age on the team in the 20s. We've been running 10th, 10th, and all of a sudden we go win back-to-back."The victory was special for car owner Bob Jenkins, a successful East Tennessee businessman who lives in Dandridge. Riggs' margin of victory was 1.096 seconds over Heim after charging to the high side for the winning pass."I was able to throw it against the fence tonight. This track is so much fun," Riggs said. "You could run the bottom. You could run the top and make time. I can't wait to watch the Cup race on Saturday night. That should be awesome. But two in a row, man!"Heim, the 2023 race winner in the No. 11 Toyota, held off a hard-charging effort by Rajah Caruth in the No. 71 Chevrolet to hang on to second."I didn't quite have it when the groove moved around there," Heim said. "I love racing with Rajah. He does a great job. We race each other hard, but clean."Christian Eckes, who won at Bristol in the spring, finished fourth in the No. 19 Chevrolet. Nick Sanchez, a teammate to Caruth in the No. 2 Chevrolet, was fifth.With their strong finishes, Heim, Eckes and Sanchez all advanced to the next round of the playoffs.EARLY STAGESCaruth picked up his first career stage win in the first stage of the race. He passed teammate Connor Zilisch for second place and then got around Heim with three laps to go. Heim won the second stage, using traffic to hold off Christian Eckes and Caruth over the final 10 laps.Zilisch won the pole with a lap of 125.207 mph with Heim on the outside pole at 124.186 mph.Matt Crafton was sixth in a Ford, followed by Chase Purdy in a Chevrolet and Ty Majeski in a Ford. Stewart Friesen in a Toyota and Tyler Ankrum in a Chevrolet rounded out the top 10.Stefan Parsons, driving the No. 75 Chevrolet for the Abingdon-based Henderson Motorsports team, finished 16th.The NASCAR Truck Series is scheduled to race again next Friday night at Kansas Speedway.Bristol Motor Speedway.The driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford made an aggressive pass on the outside to get by leader Corey Heim and went on to win the UNOH 200 at the "World's Fastest Half-Mile." It was his second straight win in the Truck Series, after his August 25 victory at the Milwaukee Mile.It was the 22-year-old North Carolina racer's second win on a Tri-Cities concrete track. The son of former NASCAR Cup Series driver Scott Riggs won a 2018 late model race for the CARS Tour at Kingsport Speedway."We've learned so much with the cars and trucks," Riggs said. "We're a young team with the average age on the team in the 20s. We've been running 10th, 10th, and all of a sudden we go win back-to-back."The victory was special for car owner Bob Jenkins, a successful East Tennessee businessman who lives in Dandridge. Riggs' margin of victory was 1.096 seconds over Heim after charging to the high side for the winning pass."I was able to throw it against the fence tonight. This track is so much fun," Riggs said. "You could run the bottom. You could run the top and make time. I can't wait to watch the Cup race on Saturday night. That should be awesome. But two in a row, man!"Heim, the 2023 race winner in the No. 11 Toyota, held off a hard-charging effort by Rajah Caruth in the No. 71 Chevrolet to hang on to second."I didn't quite have it when the groove moved around there," Heim said. "I love racing with Rajah. He does a great job. We race each other hard, but clean."Christian Eckes, who won at Bristol in the spring, finished fourth in the No. 19 Chevrolet. Nick Sanchez, a teammate to Caruth in the No. 2 Chevrolet, was fifth.With their strong finishes, Heim, Eckes and Sanchez all advanced to the next round of the playoffs.EARLY STAGESCaruth picked up his first career stage win in the first stage of the race. He passed teammate Connor Zilisch for second place and then got around Heim with three laps to go. Heim won the second stage, using traffic to hold off Christian Eckes and Caruth over the final 10 laps.Zilisch won the pole with a lap of 125.207 mph with Heim on the outside pole at 124.186 mph.Matt Crafton was sixth in a Ford, followed by Chase Purdy in a Chevrolet and Ty Majeski in a Ford. Stewart Friesen in a Toyota and Tyler Ankrum in a Chevrolet rounded out the top 10.Stefan Parsons, driving the No. 75 Chevrolet for the Abingdon-based Henderson Motorsports team, finished 16th.The NASCAR Truck Series is scheduled to race again next Friday night at Kansas Speedway.