Eleven races into the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, Layne Riggs has emerged as the hottest driver at the level. The pilot of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford leads full-timers in virtually every category: laps led (200), stage points (120), wins (3) and most importantly, points after surpassing Kaden Honeycutt last weekend at Nashville Superspeedway.
As one of the top prospects to eventually make the jump to the Cup Series, the 23-year-old will be a part of the Silly Season rumor mill as he continues to visit Victory Lane.
Speaking to the media over Zoom on Tuesday, Riggs explained that his current success — as well as active Cup drivers who had Truck Series success — are giving him optimism that a call-up could be inevitable.
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“It gives me confidence that I’m going to have an opportunity in the future,” Riggs said. “Not just from Corey (Heim), but you look at Zane (Smith), you look at (Carson) Hocevar, you look at a lot of other guys that went straight from Trucks to Cup, I feel like that’s a common path nowadays. It seems like when you do get to a national level, you either go straight to Trucks and then you go to Cup, or you go straight to the O’Reilly (Auto Parts) Series and then go to Cup. I have the confidence that I’m going to be there one day. I’m waiting for that right opportunity whenever it becomes available, but I do feel like that will be the inevitable if I keep staying on track at the performance that I have now.”
Patience has been key for Riggs in his national series career so far. It took 23 starts and missing the playoffs in 2024 before he scored his first Truck Series triumph at The Milwaukee Mile. Riggs is on a current run of eight wins across the last 43 events.
But moving up the national series ladder is easier said than done, regardless of the resume built.
Heim, who won 12 Truck Series races and the series championship last year, is on a part-time schedule in 2026 but will run full-time at the Cup level for 23XI Racing in 2027.
And when getting to Cup, can the accolades translate against the best the sport has to offer? That mountain is even steeper to ascend.
As an example, Riggs mentioned rookie Connor Zilisch and how the phenom is struggling to put together consistent runs in his maiden campaign at the top level, despite dominating the O’Reilly Series a year ago.
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“You have to race Cup to learn how to run a Cup car,” Riggs said. “You look at the tough start that Connor Zilisch has had this year and every driver that starts in the Cup Series, their rookie year is usually pretty rough. I think that waiting for the right opportunity that comes when the timing is right. I feel like if it’s a rushed opportunity to do so or something that I’m not really comfortable with, or the teams really aren’t set up to be ready to have me yet, I would rather just stay where I’m at, develop a little bit more and wait until that opportunity and timing is right.
“I would be fine with running eight years in the Truck Series and then having a 15-year-long Cup career. That sounds like a lot of fun. But just with the way timing works out, you can’t stay but so long or you kind of get stuck. I think it’s easy for drivers to get stuck in a series and get labeled as ‘you’re this series guy’, ‘you’re a Truck guy’ or ‘you’re an O’Reilly guy.’ The prospects aren’t really looking for you anymore as a guy that wants to move up.”
As the Truck Series heads to Michigan International Speedway on Saturday (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Riggs is eyeing to become the first Ford driver in the Truck Series to win three races in a row since Greg Biffle in 2000.
The second-generation driver is going to keep making waves moving forward, but Riggs says there’s no added pressure.
“I think that our results recently just kind of speak for themselves of the performance we have,” he said. “I want to move up, but I want the opportunity to be right so just waiting for that, and trying to make sure I do all I can in this series that I’m in and focus on that, and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”