Layne Riggs holds on to claim first NASCAR Trucks street race

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- In a thrilling run to the checkered flag, Layne Riggs bobbed, weaved and saved just enough fuel to keep a pair of hard-charging fellow Ford drivers in Ty Majeski and Ben Rhodes behind him to win the OnlyBulls Green Flag 150 on Saturday afternoon.

Riggs' No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford crossed the line .879 of a second ahead of Majeski for his first victory of the year and sixth of his career as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series held its inaugural race on the streets of downtown St. Petersburg.

Starting 28th in the 36-car field, Riggs turned in remarkable work moving forward from the drop of the green flag. He finished seventh in the opening 20-lap stage and won the second stage 20 laps later. Riggs said the fuel light was flickering with about eight laps to go and that he was almost certain he wasn't going to have enough to finish.

"Just didn't know how long it was going to last," Riggs said.

It lasted long enough to take the win and allow for victory donuts around the crowded course as he celebrated the first road course victory of his career, leading a race-best 41 of the 80 laps.

"It was a lot of fun racing here at St. Pete, I think everybody heard street course and thought they weren't going to be able to pass and there wouldn't be great side-by-side racing, but this was one of the race-iest tracks we've ever gone to, at least in the truck series in my time," Riggs said with a smile. "It was a lot of fun.

"I call myself a road racer now," he added, noting it was only the fifth road course race of his life. "It's amazing to race so many well-known guys, going past some and knowing these guys are road-course ringers and we were faster today."

Sunny skies and a scenic 1.8-mile 14-turn course along the downtown St. Pete waterfront provided a great scene for the series' first street course event -- and the trucks did not disappoint the large and enthusiastic crowd.

At one point late in the race, Riggs, 23, held a two minute-plus advantage on the field, but lapped traffic in the final 10 laps allowed Majeski and Rhodes to close in. With a lap to go, it looked like Majeski had put his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford in position to make a final challenge on Riggs, but he overshot Turn 13 for the second time on the day.

Majeski recovered enough to hold on to second, but left the track feeling he'd lost an opportunity.

The 2024 series champion also climbed out of his Ford truck encouraged by the venue.

"It was probably the most fun I've had in a race car in a long time," Majeski said. "A lot of fun. It's a racey race track with three good passing zones and rewards discipline.

"Just finding that balance between being aggressive and making mistakes and staying disciplined," Majeski said of his day, which included two laps out front and that runner-up finish after starting 22nd.

"Just made a little mistake into (Turn) 13, got a little wheel-hop and had to chase it and battle my way back. Hope everyone enjoyed the show. We passed a lot of trucks today."

Rhodes, who led 23 laps early, similarly could not mount a challenge in the closing laps as he, too, had to save fuel.

"That's all we had in the tank for our F150 here, literally I was running out of gas those last two laps," said Rhodes, who has a pair of top-five finishes through the season's opening three races.

"Really proud of Ford Racing for bringing us a fast truck. Our truck's in one piece and a lot of these trucks aren't. Very excited, though. Brand-new truck and a good showing for it."

Former IndyCar stars -- Dario Franchitti and James Hinchcliffe and current IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series full-timer Colin Braun -- added an extra element of intrigue to the field. Braun, who started 16th in Kaulig Racing's No. 25 RAM Truck, finished ninth to pace that esteemed trio.

Hinchcliffe, the former Indy 500 polesitter and multi-race winner, finished 10th in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. Franchitti, the three-time Indianapolis 500 winner, was officially scored 27th as his No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota pitted late in the race and lost a lap.

Fords swept the top four positions, with Riggs' teammate Chandler Smith finishing fourth after leading seven laps. TRICON Garage's Kaden Honeycutt rounded out the top five in a Toyota.

Neice Motorsports teammates Landen Lewis and Andres Perez De Lara were sixth and seventh with McAnally-Hilgemann's Daniel Hemric, Braun and Hinchcliffe completing the top 10.

"I think the overall headliner is that a Bahamian, North Carolina, boy won on a road course against some of the best in the world," a grinning Riggs said. "It's a testament to everyone at Front Row Motorsports and a shoutout to (sports car driver) Joey Hand, who did a lot of work with me."

"It is an amazing place to come and I don't know why we couldn't come back next year ... I couldn't believe how packed the grandstands were and I thought it was one of the best road course races the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has ever seen," Riggs said of running the doubleheader weekend along with the IndyCar Series, which races Sunday. "Thank you to all the fans for coming out."

Smith now leads the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship standings by 34 points over former two-time series champion Rhodes.

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race -- OnlyBulls Green Flag 150 at St. Petersburg

Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg, Florida

Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026

1. (28) Layne Riggs, Ford, 80.

2. (22) Ty Majeski, Ford, 80.

3. (4) Ben Rhodes, Ford, 80.

4. (5) Chandler Smith, Ford, 80.

5. (19) Kaden Honeycutt, Toyota, 80.

6. (8) Landen Lewis, Chevrolet, 80.

7. (14) Andres Perez De Lara, Chevrolet, 80.

8. (34) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 80.

9. (16) Colin Braun, RAM, 80.

10. (3) James Hinchcliffe, Chevrolet, 80.

11. (35) Ben Maier, Chevrolet, 80.

12. (11) Justin Haley, RAM, 80.

13. (1) Connor Mosack, Chevrolet, 80.

14. (30) Cole Butcher #, Ford, 80.

15. (31) Christian Eckes, Chevrolet, 80.

16. (18) Tyler Reif, Chevrolet, 80.

17. (12) Daniel Dye, RAM, 80.

18. (9) Jake Garcia, Ford, 80.

19. (20) Kris Wright, Chevrolet, 80.

20. (29) Tanner Gray, Toyota, 80.

21. (26) Carter Fartuch, Ford, 80.

22. (25) Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 80.

23. (10) Adam Andretti, Toyota, 80.

24. (15) Brenden Queen #, RAM, 80.

25. (2) Giovanni Ruggiero, Toyota, 79.

26. (17) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 79.

27. (6) Dario Franchitti, Toyota, 79.

28. (21) Mini Tyrrell #, RAM, 77.

29. (24) Jackson Lee, Ford, 75.

30. (23) Frankie Muniz, Ford, 74.

31. (13) Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 70.

32. (36) Timmy Hill, Toyota, 63.

33. (33) Dawson Sutton, Chevrolet, Accident, 62.

34. (27) Nathan Nicholson, Chevrolet, Accident, 55.

35. (32) Derek White, Ford, Fuel Pump, 52.

36. (7) Wesley Slimp, Toyota, Power Steering, 15.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 58.756 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 27 Mins, 3 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.879 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 6 for 17 laps.

Lead Changes: 9 among 5 drivers.

Lap Leaders: C. Mosack 1-6;B. Rhodes 7-21;C. Mosack 22;B. Rhodes 23-30;C. Smith 31-37;L. Riggs 38-54;T. Majeski 55;L. Riggs 56-60;T. Majeski 61;L. Riggs 62-80.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Layne Riggs 3 times for 41 laps; Ben Rhodes 2 times for 23 laps; Chandler Smith 1 time for 7 laps; Connor Mosack 2 times for 7 laps; Ty Majeski 2 times for 2 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 99,7,45,38,17,1,34,18,11,44

Stage #2 Top Ten: 34,38,45,88,99,17,18,1,9,44

--NASCAR Wire Service