MARTINSVILLE, Va. – When Layne Riggs took the checkered flag to Friday’s Slim Jim 200 Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway, he thought it was enough to move through to the Championship 4 on points. After further evaluation, he was informed he lost the tiebreaker to Kaden Honeycutt, knocking the three-time winner in 2025 out of the postseason.
Knowing points were tight between a quartet of drivers entering an overtime restart, Riggs was on the chip to make something happen. He was able to knock past upstart Brent Crews to take third position, but a smidgen behind the No. 52 Toyota of Honeycutt. Having to ruffle his way through the competition is a trait the 23-year-old doesn’t pride himself on, but if it means advancing to the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway, he feels as though he’s got to do it for the betterment of the No. 34 team.
“I don’t like racing like that,” Riggs said after the race. “I want to race straight up how it’s supposed to be, but I’m hearing, ‘you’ve got to get a spot, got to get one.’ I’m going to do what my team tells me to do to get in this championship. I don’t want to rough up guys that have done nothing to me in the past. I don’t like racing like that.
“We thought we were the tiebreaker winner. I got told that we were in and I was still upset. I just don’t like how those races finish like that. You have to do what you have to do. That’s not my kind of mentality and I don’t like doing that. Either way, we’ve had a great year all the way around.”
While Corey Heim left the field in the dust en route to his series-high 11th victory of the 2025 season, Honeycutt, Riggs, Tyler Ankrum and defending series champion Ty Majeski were in a fierce points battle. Overcoming brake fade and worn tires, Majeski rallied to seventh at the checkered flag. Meanwhile, Ankrum finished ninth. Both drivers were calculated with one more point than the tie between Honeycutt and Riggs. The tiebreaker belonged to Honeycutt for having the best finish in the Round of 8.
“All [spotter, Chris] Lambert told me was to not lose a spot and fight like hell,” Honeycutt stated. “I didn’t do the best job of executing the restart and Corey did an excellent job of executing. Just had to hold on and hoped that everything worked out. Thankfully it did, and now we get the chance to go have fun next week and try to mix it up.”
Relief was on the face of Ankrum, who said he will need to see a psychiatrist after an eventful evening.
“This doesn’t freaking cover stress, man,” Ankrum said. “Next time I do it, I want to have a win or 30 or 40 points in the bank. … I’m definitely going to try to find a way to chill out tonight.”
Managing brake fade was a tall task for Majeski as he lost positions in bunches during the closing laps. The No. 98 truck charged to seventh position and was thankful for a relatively clean race.
“You’re just trying to do what you can to get every spot you can,” Majeski noted of the waning laps. “For the most part, everyone raced pretty clean. There was some bumping and banging to try to advance to Phoenix, which is to be expected, but it didn’t turn into a [expletive] like we’ve seen in the past with some of the other series.”
After commanding the opening 27 laps, Riggs missed a shift on a restart and lost crucial positions during the opening stage. He earned five points via a sixth-place finish in Stage 1, losing out on five potential points had he won the stage.
That’s where the beginning of Riggs’ night turned.
“I don’t know what happened – I’ve never missed a shift in a truck with these transmissions, ever,” Riggs added. “It would just not go into third gear, fourth; it wouldn’t go into gear no matter what I did. I’ve never had that problem before. It summarizes our Round of 8 of things that could have happened.”
Heim, who by most statistical metrics has put together the most dominant season in series history, will return to the Championship 4 for the third straight season. Majeski will battle for the championship for the third time in four seasons. Meanwhile, both Honeycutt and Ankrum will make their first appearance.