Layne Riggs will have some big shoes to fill when he steps into the cockpit of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports entry this season.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rookie is taking over Zane Smith’s ride — the same truck Smith drove to championship glory in 2022.
While 21-year-old Riggs knows winning the title is a lofty goal, he still wants to live up to the expectations that come with his new, multi-year deal with FRM.
“Coming in, being a rookie, it’s going to be really hard,” Riggs said. “I’ll be going to Daytona, Talladega and other superspeedways for the first time. He (Smith) was undefeated at the COTA road course — I’ve never even been there before.”
Riggs considers himself to be more of a short-track ace, having won the 2022 NACAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series championship while tasting mild success on the CARS Tour.
But despite his accomplishments, Riggs had reached a crossroads in his career wondering when he’d get a big break to compete in a NASCAR national touring series.
In early December, Riggs and FRM made the official announcement.
“I’ve said it in the past, saying I wasn’t quite sure where my future was and I’m gonna do all I can do,” Riggs recalled. “I’m just so thankful it finally worked out and I get to do what I’ve wanted to do and live out my dream.”
But reaching the crossroads also meant Riggs had to come up with a backup plan, which was going to involve using his engineering background to work on race cars. He laughed as he admitted that being behind the wheel was a much more appealing option.
Nonetheless, the North Carolina native will continue to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering as he enters his senior term at UNC Charlotte.
Riggs’ knowledge will still come in handy on the Truck Series side when it comes to working with crew chief Dylan Cappelo, who is taking a step up the ladder at FRM from his previous role as lead engineer.
“Dylan’s also a mechanical engineer, so just from what we’ve talked about so far, we’ve got a lot of the same lingo and talk a lot alike,” Riggs said. “He’s going to be new and wanting to prove himself, and I’m young and want to prove myself in the Truck Series specifically, so I know I’m with the best team.”
Though Riggs has dabbled in Trucks and the Xfinity Series over the past few years, he only has nine national series starts. His best finish was third at Indianapolis Raceway Park last season while piloting the No. 7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports in the Truck Series.
While it’s not much experience, it’s still something.
“Jumping in full time with a championship-winning team and a team that is established in the series and expected to go win, I’m more confident than ever,” Riggs said. “I wouldn’t call it arrogance, I’d just call it confidence.”
He’s already in the midst of preparations for the season opener — the Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona Int’l Speedway on Feb. 16.
As Riggs went down the list of what he’s been up to, frequent phone calls with Cappelo, working with spotter Josh Williams and utilizing the Ford simulators were somewhere near the top.
With the team he has behind him and the opportunity ahead, it seems there’s little that can stop Riggs from shooting for the stars during his rookie season.
“I’m not somebody that’s like, ‘Well, my goal is, if I can run top 20 this weekend, that’ll be good,’” Riggs said. “I want to win every race I go to and I want to end up winning the championship at the end of the season.”
It’s likely that the step up from the grassroots racing circuit to the NASCAR level won’t be quite as seamless as Riggs anticipates, but the young gun can’t help but hope for the best.
“It’s a relief that I’m finally here and I can call myself a professional NASCAR driver. It’s a dream come true and I just hope I don’t wake up from the dream,” Riggs said.
Riggs’ father, Scott Riggs, competed in all three levels of NASCAR during his career. Scott made his Truck Series debut in 1999 and won five races over the course of his career.
The elder Riggs competed in the Cup Series from 2004 to 2013.