“Got told we were in”: Layne Riggs opens up after losing championship spot to Kaden Honeycutt

Layne Riggs spoke honestly after missing out on a spot in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship 4. In a video shared by motorsports journalist Matt Weaver on X, Riggs explained how he and his team thought they had made it to the final four before finding out they hadn’t.

Riggs’ words came after a tense finish at Martinsville Speedway on October 24, 2025. Despite finishing third, he lost the final Championship 4 spot to Kaden Honeycutt, who came in second.

Both drivers were tied in points, but Honeycutt advanced on a tiebreaker because he had the best finish in the Round of 8. Talking about the same, Riggs told Weaver,

“In the battle by there in the end, we thought we were the tiebreaker winner and even I thought, I got told that we were in,” “I was still kinda just upset, I just don’t like how those races finish like that. You have to do what you have to do, it’s not just my kind of mentality, I don’t like doing it.”

Before the race, Layne Riggs had a strong weekend. He won the pole at Martinsville, which was his third career pole. According to Yardbarker, Riggs had been the fastest in both practice and qualifying. Starting from pole gave him a chance to win stage points early and control his race strategy.

Riggs entered the Martinsville race six points below the cutline for the Championship 4. He needed to outperform Ty Majeski and stay ahead of Rajah Caruth, Tyler Ankrum, and Kaden Honeycutt to advance.

Despite his strong performance, Honeycutt’s second-place finish ended Riggs’ playoff run. So far in the 2025 season Layne Riggs has three wins, 12 top-five finishes, and 15 top-10s. He also had three poles and led 471 laps.

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“I feel like I just need another year in Trucks or Xfinity”: Layne Riggs shares 2026 plans

About a month before the Martinsville race, Layne Riggs talked about his plans for the 2026 season. Speaking with Racing America, Riggs said he plans to stay in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for another year and possibly make some Cup Series starts with his team.

Riggs, from Bahama, North Carolina, said his focus will be on improving and gaining more experience.

“I do feel like I need, at least another year in Trucks or Xfinity, whatever the path is,” Layne Riggs said. “I’m planning on running the No. 34 Truck again next year, as of now. So yeah, I feel like I just need a little bit more time.”

He also mentioned that he wants to try a few races in higher series to prepare for the next step. Adding,

“I mean, nothing’s done yet, or really even in talks. That’s the goal is to try to branch out, make some starts next year, either Xfinity or in Cup. That’d be the goal just to try and get my feet wet and get a feel for it and see,”

Before joining Front Row Motorsports full-time, Layne Riggs ran part-time for several teams including Halmar Friesen Racing, Young’s Motorsports, and Spire Motorsports. In 2023, he made three Xfinity Series starts with Kaulig Racing, which helped him move to a full-time schedule the following season.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua