Are NASCAR Cup drivers racing in the Truck Series an unfair proposition to Truck drivers? That was the opinion of Kaden Honeycutt after Darlington, who criticized the practice. However, his championship rival, Layne Riggs, doesn’t necessarily share his views on the subject.
Layne Riggs sees both sides in NASCAR Cup drivers racing in Trucks
Ahead of this week’s Truck race at Bristol, Layne Riggs was asked about his thoughts and if having Cup drivers in the Truck race this weekend is ‘too much’. This weekend’s Truck race would feature the most active full-time drivers from the Cup Series.
But Riggs believed there are both pros and cons to the story. “I like when they come and race with us. It makes us be better.
“I like it because I think it gives us more attention in the Truck Series. I think that the win tonight will be a little bit more respected by the average fan. The negative side to it is that they’re not racing for points. They can be as rambunctious as possible. They can dory you up the track. They can put you in bad situations, and they know you’re going to have to lift because you’re racing for points,” he said.
Riggs said he was in a similar position when he wasn’t in the playoffs in 2024. He recalled being able to race aggressively without having anything to lose. On the other side, the drivers who were racing for points had to be smart.’ In 2026, Riggs said he finds himself on the other side of the fence, having to be smart as he’s aiming to win a championship at the end of this season.
“We got to be a little smarter than those guys. So, they know that. They know that they have us in a pinch, all the regular season guys, and they’re definitely going to take that to their advantage tonight. So, it’s just trying to work around that,” Riggs explained.
It’s worth mentioning that in Friday’s Truck race at Bristol, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Busch, Carson Hocevar, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, and Daniel Suarez will be taking part.
Kaden Honeycutt was left frustrated with Cup drivers at Darlington
Having Cup drivers in Truck races was something championship contender Kaden Honeycutt called out after missing out on the win at Darlington.
“What the hell do they care about, right? I understand we’re racing for a win, but they knew I was the best truck, so they did what they had to do to take me out of it, so it just sucks,” he said after the race.
During the second overtime restart in the race, Honeycutt had a win in his sights. But within a couple of laps, he went from the front row to fourth place, which he credited to Ross Chastain getting an ‘extra shove’ going down into turn 1 and clearing him.
Carson Hocevar, another NASCAR Cup driver who was part of that race at Darlington, claimed that it is up to truck drivers to decide whether they want to lift or not. The Spire driver said that they race for the win, and in Cup, they don’t lift.
