After an uncharacteristic postseason opener at Bristol Motor Speedway, Chase drivers in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series are hoping for a return to normalcy in Saturday’s Race to Stop Suicide 200 at Kansas Speedway (1 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
After a promising start to the Bristol race, with two stage wins and the first 135 laps led, top-seeded Layne Riggs of Front Row Motorsports saw most of his 25-point advantage slip away under a barrage of late-race issues.
Riggs finished 32nd and now leads second-place Kaden Honeycutt, who finished eighth in the opener, by three points. The gap between Riggs and fifth-place Giovanni Ruggiero tightened to 39 points.
Ruggiero was the highest fishing Chase driver in sixth, as Jake Garcia scored his first victory in the series.
“Just getting in the second stage, I was a little bit tight and struggled being tight throughout the rest of the race,” Ruggiero said. “But to have a good clean day at the end of it and have a decent points day is good for us and good momentum to start the Chase.
“I’m excited for Kansas and Charlotte (the third Chase race on Oct. 9). I feel like if we keep bringing the speed we had (last Saturday) and actually are able to qualify for the next two (as opposed to setting the field by the rule book because of rain) and be able to start up front, we will be in a lot better position.”
Riggs has one top five in three starts at Kansas—a runner-up finish in September of 2024. Honeycutt has posted two fourth-place finishes and an eighth-place result in his last three starts at the 1.5-mile track.
Grant Enfinger and Christian Eckes, respectively sixth and eighth in the Chase standings, are the only two former Kansas winners in the field for Saturday’s race. Enfinger is 53 points behind Riggs. Eckes trails by 58 points.
Eckes and Tyler Ankrum were the only two Chase drivers who lost points to Riggs in the Bristol opener.
Kansas is likely to be a bellwether track for the balance of the Chase. Three of the remaining six postseason races are scheduled for 1.5-mile speedways (Kansas, Charlotte and Homestead-Miami).
–NASCAR Wire Service–