Layne Riggs flipped the NASCAR Truck Series playoff narrative on its head on Friday with a stellar win at Pocono Raceway during the MillerTech Battery 200. His breakthrough marked the first time a Ford driver had won at the 2.5-mile tri-oval since 2013, when Ryan Blaney last won.
Friday’s win also secured the Front Row Motorsports driver a playoff berth. Riggs’ outstanding showing caught the attention of Kevin Harvick’s legendary crew chief, Rodney Childers, who applauded the youngster’s performance with a nod of admiration and a touch of nostalgia.
Layne Riggs Earns the Respect of Rodney Childers After Pocono Triumph
Riggs had the best car. The No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford was the fastest during qualifying, thus earning the 23-year-old his first career pole. He made full use of the headstart, acing the first stage before Truck Series standout Corey Heim rallied back and secured Stage 2.
But eventually, the race unraveled and gave Riggs another opportunity to capture the checkered flag. Seizing the late-race mishap of the No. 11 Toyota, the FRM driver drove into his first win of the season and his third career win, leading 25 laps against Heim’s race-high 48.
The youngster’s thrilling win got veteran racing strategist and former Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief, Childers, fired up. Taking to social media, he penned a brief yet warm note, tagging Riggs in the post as he celebrated the young driver’s thumping win. He wrote:
He’ll yeah @LayneRiggs99 !!👊🏼👊🏼🏁🏁
You’ve come a long way from 2005, running around our Motorhome eating frozen chicken nuggets.. 👶🏼— Rodney Childers (@RodneyChilders4) June 20, 2025
“He’ll yeah @LayneRiggs99!! You’ve come a long way from 2005, running around our Motorhome eating frozen chicken nuggets…” In fact, Childers was so excited about the Ford driver’s win that he missed the typo error in his post. He savoured Riggs’ win, reminiscing about how the youngster during his childhood was a constant presence in his motorhome.
For the unversed, Childers and the Riggs family’s relationship goes a long way back. The veteran crew chief had previously worked with Scott Riggs (Layne’s father) during his early days in Late-Model Racing. The pairing eventually got Scott into NASCAR, where he drove the No. 92 car for EBR Enterprises in the Camping World Truck Series.
Years down the line, Harvick and Childers roped in Layne to the 2014 Cup Series champion’s Kevin Harvick Inc.’s Late-Model program, where Childers guided him. Now watching Riggs, this is a full-circle moment for Childers, seeing his mentee win at the big stage, knowing that he has punched his ticket into the playoffs.