Layne Riggs won the Navy 250 at the San Diego Street Course on Friday, the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Naval Base Coronado, and turned a narrow championship lead into a comfortable one.
Riggs, in the Front Row Motorsports No. 34, beat Daniel Hemric to the line by 1.332 seconds over 53 laps and 180.2 miles. It was the ninth Truck Series victory of his career and his third in his last five starts. Kaz Grala finished third, Landen Lewis fourth, and Ty Majeski fifth.
The driver with the most to lose was Kaden Honeycutt, who came to San Diego 26 points behind Riggs. Honeycutt led early before an accident ended his race in 23rd. Riggs winning and Honeycutt finishing 23rd opened the standings in a single afternoon.
Riggs now leads Honeycutt by 65 points, 562 to 497, up from 26 entering the weekend. Chandler Smith is third at 434.
The Navy 250 was only the second street-circuit race in Truck Series history, after St. Petersburg, and the unfamiliar layout produced a long Friday night: sixteen cautions across a race that ran past its scheduled distance.
The Truck Series races next at Lime Rock Park on July 11.
Elsewhere on the San Diego street course this weekend: Corey Heim won Sunday's Cup race but scored no points for it, and Austin Hill won Saturday's O'Reilly Series race.
Kaulig Racing's Ram trucks had their best day of the season in the chaos: Justin Haley finished sixth and Brenden Queen seventh.
Update, July 18: Riggs finished second at North Wilkesboro but still extended his points lead to 59, up from 44 entering the race.