Layne Riggs holds off ThorSport duo to win the inaugural Truck Series race at St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla – After intense racing in the final laps, Layne Riggs wins the inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on the streets of St. Pete.

Riggs held off Ben Rhodes, Ty Majeski, and his fuel through heavy lap traffic to earn his first road course victory and sixth career Truck Series win overall.

In a race where expectations were for chaos, the full-time Truck Series drivers delivered a more disciplined display instead.

Layne Riggs rolled off 28th and marched through the field, capping his charge after a bold pass on teammate Chandler Smith to win the second stage.

He controlled the race from there but had to fend off Ty Majeski on back-to-back restarts in the closing laps of the OnlyBulls Green Flag 150.

Riggs held him off the first time. On the second, Majeski powered ahead only to overcook the final corner.

Layne Riggs took that open invitation and reclaimed the lead, while Majeski fell to fifth eventually regrouping to finish second.

Fuel saving and heavy lap traffic brought Majeski and Ben Rhodes back into the fight in the closing laps.

Ben Rhodes, the Stage 1 winner, eventually got to Riggs’ bumper with three to go but eventually surrendered second place to finish third.

Rhodes continues his amazing start of the season. After a race-high 23 laps led, he has led more laps in the first three races of the 2026 season than the 2024 and 2025 seasons combined.

The Rest

From there, Anywhere you look in the top twenty carried a story.

Chandler Smith lived in the top five the whole event. Landon Lewis flashed serious potential by running in the top five nearly all day and coming home sixth with a clean truck.

Andres Perez De Lara stayed steady in the top ten all day too. He maintains a firm position inside the chase positions after today.

Others fought through far more adversity. Kaden Honeycutt and Daniel Hemric both overcame damage to finish fifth and eighth. IMSA winner Colin Braun delivered RAM its best result yet with a ninth-place run.

James “Jimmy Hinch” Hinchcliffe endured a wild afternoon. Dario Franchitti door-slammed him, he spun twice, and dodged two more wrecks. Even still he charged back to finish tenth.

Franchitti himself ran inside the top ten most of the race before missing a corner with 16 to go. He flat-spotted his tires, pitted for fresh rubber, and surrendered track position late.

The inaugural Truck Series race on the streets of St. Petersburg served as an excellent companion to the Indycar series.

The perfect blend of chaos and hard-fought racing more than proved its worth to return for a second event.