Teams suing NASCAR look to Iowa after big wins in Indy
INDIANAPOLIS — The two teams suing NASCAR look to Iowa Speedway with momentum after winning out on one of the biggest weekends of the season.
In the lead-up to Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Front Row Motorsports went to victory lane with Layne Riggs in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Lucas Oil Raceway Park. Riggs swept the stages and led 160 of 200 laps en route to his second win of the 2025 season.
Teammate Chandler Smith finished sixth after starting third. He finished third and fourth in the stages, racking up 15 stage points on the night.
While Todd Gilliland finished sixth for Front Row in the Brickyard 400, the race went much better for 23XI Racing.
Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick ran up front and scored stage points, notably finishing second and fourth in the first stage.
After Reddick received damage near the middle of the race, his teammate took hold. Crew chief Charles Denike played the strategy game perfectly to allow Bubba Wallace to take the lead when Joey Logano had a tire issue.
Then, a caution for rain and another caution — for Front Row driver Zane Smith crashing and collecting Reddick and others — put Wallace on the very edge of his fuel.
While other drivers in a similar fuel situation ran out, Bubba Wallace defeated Kyle Larson in two overtime restarts and took home his first crown jewel win in NASCAR.
Wallace is now virtually locked into the playoffs. Reddick has yet to virtually lock in but is in one of three spots left for drivers to make it in on points.
Meanwhile, teammate Riley Herbst and the three Front Row drivers — Smith, Gilliland and Noah Gragson — all must win to get into the playoffs. One of them is almost guaranteed to miss with only four regular season races.
On the other hand, Front Row is top dog in Trucks. Layne Riggs and Chandler Smith are currently the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds for the playoffs.
Riggs has earned 16 playoff points — 10 from two wins and six from stage wins. The other eight are contingent upon if he can finish third in the regular season points standings.
Smith has earned 11 playoff points — 10 from two wins and one from a stage win. The other 10 are contingent upon if he can finish second in the regular season points.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has the Iowa Speedway weekend off. However, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports will race Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series at Iowa.
In the 2024 Cup race at Iowa, Todd Gilliland finished best of the organizations — 12th — and earned stage points in the second stage, along with Bubba Wallace.
The Trucks return Aug. 9 at Watkins Glen and Aug. 16 at Richmond Raceway. Their playoffs begin Aug. 30 at Darlington Raceway, a day before the Cup playoffs begin there.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com