"It was a rollercoaster," said Layne Riggs when asked how he would describe his rookie season. "I think we felt every emotion possible and then some this year. The highs were high and the lows were low, but I don't think I would go back and change anything. I learned a lot."
Hailing from Bahama, North Carolina, the 2022 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Champion was tapped to drive the championship-winning No. 38 Ford F-150 for Front Row Motorsports (FRM) for the 2024 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season.
"I knew what the No. 38 truck and team were capable of," said Riggs. "It saw success with Todd (Gilliland) and Zane (Smith) and I just knew that yes, my rookie season wasn't going to be easy, but I had a great support system that wanted to recreate their past successes with me behind the wheel. The team, partners, the whole shop had my back."
Inking a deal with FRM, Riggs was paired with rookie crew chief Dylan Cappello. Cappello entered his new role with the experience to back it up, serving as the team's race engineer with Zane Smith and played a pivotal role in Smith's 2022 championship season.
"We turned a lot of heads early on with pairing up Dylan and me," chuckled Riggs. "It's not often that you pair a rookie driver with a rookie crew chief."
Riggs might have been preparing for his rookie season at FRM's Mooresville headquarters, but when he was away from the shop, he was working towards his Mechanical Engineering degree at UNC Charlotte, which would help Riggs and Cappello in the season ahead.
"Even before we started to build our Daytona truck, Dylan and I clicked on an engineering front," said Riggs. "He has a Mechanical Engineering degree and already had some experience under his belt and I was in my final year at UNC Charlotte working towards the same degree, so from the start, we already felt comfortable communicating with each other."
As the weeks went on, Riggs and Cappello worked on their first truck of the season, Chassis No. 164.
With his new ride, Riggs and the team traveled south to the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway for the Fresh From Florida 250, an event that Front Row Motorsports was back-to-back winners of in 2022 & 2023 with Zane Smith.
"When I got to Daytona, it was the biggest track I had ever seen," said Riggs. "Growing up in the late model scene, I was so used to tracks like South Boston and Orange County. I knew Daytona was going to be a challenge, especially with pack racing, something I had never done before but I was ready for it."
Hopping into the No. 38 Love's RV Stop Ford F-150, Riggs made his first laps at the 2.5-mile superspeedway in the first practice session of the season. In the qualifying session, Riggs ran a top speed of 176.585 and posted a 50.967 second time, putting him 21st to start the race.
"It took some getting used to but after a couple laps and drafting with other Fords, I felt comfortable," said Riggs. "We had solid speed and had high hopes heading into the race."
Unfortunately for Riggs, his Daytona debut only lasted six laps, colliding with another competitor and sustaining right-side damage. Cappello and the team worked against NASCAR's Damaged Vehicle Policy clock but were unable to get the race truck back up to minimum speed and were forced to retire from the race.
"I just felt so defeated," recalled Riggs. "I knew it wasn't going to be any easy journey but to only make it six laps in the first race of the season was just a gut-punching feeling."
The next two races weren't much of a confidence booster for Riggs, finishing 33rd and 22nd at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, respectfully.
The fourth race of the season showed much promise for the rookie to showcase his skills as the Truck Series traveled to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Bristol provided the type of short-track racing Riggs grew up in the late model world.
"I had a couple of races circled on my calendar, and two of them were at Bristol," said Riggs. "Pulling into the track, I just felt like it was going to be a good weekend."
The one-day show started off rocky for Riggs, spinning in the practice session before qualifying 28th for the event. "I remember sitting there on pit wall so embarrassed. It's one thing to make contact with someone and wreck in practice, but self-spinning is a whole other level of embarrassment."
Riggs buckled in for the 250-lap race, picking up spots where he could to put himself within the top-10. When the checkered flag waved, Riggs crossed the start/finish line in the 10th position, scoring his first top-10 finish of the season.
"You would have thought I won the race with how big of a smile I had," laughed Riggs. "Our season had gotten off to a terrible start but that finish at Bristol gave me confidence, like an 'ok, I can do this' type of feeling. We still had work to do and changes to make if we wanted to compete for wins, but it was a good confidence booster."
Riggs' next confidence booster came at the Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. In a special throwback scheme honoring his dad's No. 86 RC Cola machine, Riggs qualifying 8th for the 150-lap race.
"Darlington is a challenging track that lives up to its 'Too Tough to Tame' name. So, I was surprised when we qualified 8th, especially since our mile-and-a-half program was still in its early stages," said Riggs.
When the green flag waved, Riggs got to work and showed that he belonged, competing within the top-5 throughout the first two stages. Unfortunately, Riggs' performance would be overshadowed by a final stage multi-truck incident that would collect the No. 38. The team made the necessary repairs but were forced to settle for a 21st place finish.
"Obviously I wanted a different outcome, but when I got out, I was relieved that we had a solid performance to be proud of. It was another big confidence booster that the good finishes were coming, we just had to keep our heads down and keep working," said Riggs.
The opportunity for a good finish wasn't far for Riggs as the team traveled to a freshly paved North Wilkesboro Speedway.
"I was excited for Wilkesboro. I even had plans to run the late model race for practice," said Riggs. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans, canceling not only the scheduled late model race but the qualifying session for the Truck Series, setting the starting grid by points, and putting Riggs in the 23rd position.
Riggs' didn't spend much time in the 20s, working his way into the top-15 while Cappello played the strategy card on pit road. Riggs found himself within the top-3 hoping for more but settled for a third-place finish, his first top-5 of the season.
"I was happy with the result," said Riggs. "I wanted more but with the way the season was going, I was just relieved to bring home a clean truck and continue to build on our momentum."
Heading into the LiUNA! 175 at the Milwaukee Mile, Riggs was on a heater, scoring back-to-back top-5's at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis (In.) Raceway Park and the Richmond (Va.) Raceway. "I knew Milwaukee was going to be a good weekend for us. Our confidence was up and we knew we could perform, we just had to execute and minimize the mistakes," said Riggs.
In a rare Sunday race for the Truck Series, Riggs hopped in the No. 38 Zorn Compressors & Equipment Ford F-150 and buckled in for 175 laps.
"The race started and I just got to work," said Riggs. "It was just another day in the office. We hung around in the top-10 then eventually we were in the top-5. We pitted under the stage-break caution where my pit crew had what I think was the best stop of the year. I restarted on the front row and just continued to fight."
Riggs took the lead with 53 laps remaining and never looked back, crossing the start/finish line in dominating fashion to score his first career win. However, it wasn’t the victory that dominated the headlines—it was his shoulder. While celebrating atop his Ford F-150 at the start/finish line, Riggs dislocated his shoulder.
"It was definitely a celebration I'll never forget, and something I'll never do again," said Riggs from behind a grin. I think more people remember the injury than they do the actual win. Even TMZ picked it up. I'm glad it got a lot of coverage, though," he continued.
Making his return to the Bristol Motor Speedway, Riggs recalls the conversation he had with NASCAR's doctor.
"When I went to go see the doctor to get cleared, he told me that when I win Bristol to take it easy and not celebrate too hard. I thought to myself 'Yeah, no way we go back-to-back, especially in the Playoffs, but sounds good I'll take it easy'," said Riggs.
Riggs qualified 18th for the race but quickly found himself within the top-10 and top-5. "We were really fast from the start," said Riggs. "We started picking up spots and got within the top-10, then the top-5, then the top-3. Once I got the lead, I knew it was over."
Riggs crossed the start / finish line first to take home his second career win and become the first driver in NASCAR history to claim back-to-back wins in the Playoffs without being eligible for the championship.
"It's truly incredible that we were able to go back-to-back," said Riggs. "Our Milwaukee win put my name on the map, but the Bristol win solidified that I deserved to be on the map," he continued.
Getting on the plane to Phoenix, Arizona, Riggs reflected on his rookie season with Front Row Motorsports and the No. 38 Ford F-150.
"Looking back, even with all the bad luck we had early on, I'm more than happy with how my rookie season went," said Riggs. "This season was full of growth. I came here as a rookie, got paired up with a rookie crew chief and a mostly rookie road crew, and we went out there and showed the competition what we're capable of. I'm proud of that."
Riggs talks about 2025's expectations and what he wants to accomplish.
"A Playoff berth is the expectation next season," said Riggs. "I know we're capable of it. We just have to execute and minimize mistakes early on in the season so we can put ourselves in position to make the Playoffs. I have a great team behind me, so let's go do great things."
Riggs ended his rookie season with two wins, seven top-5's, and 10 top-10's. With this, Riggs was awarded the Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors for the 2024 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season.