CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Layne Riggs is set to return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series full-time with Front Row Motorsports in 2027.

The team picked up his option for next season, Riggs confirmed during NCTS Chase Media Day Tuesday. It'll mark his fourth full-time season in the series – all with FRM so far.

The No. 1 seed for the NCTS Chase, Riggs has six wins, 10 top-five finishes and 11 top-10 finishes in 18 races so far this season with an average finish of 9.7. 

Riggs' career NCTS statistics mirror former championship rival Corey Heim. For instance, they each had two wins in their first season, three wins in their second and at least six wins in their third. 

Likely seeing where that has taken Heim, Riggs said he is "firm" on getting a Cup Series start before the end of the 2027 season. While "there's no pens to paper" to race in Cup, Riggs said he wants to have a year like Heim's 2025 season where he races NCTS full-time and gets Cup starts.

In 2025, Heim won the NCTS championship in historic fashion with a series-record 12 wins and an average finish of fifth in 25 races. He also qualified for four Cup races with 23XI Racing, finishing a then-career-high sixth-place at Bristol Motor Speedway.

This year, Heim has won two Cup races and scored another top-10 finish, to total three top-10 finishes in 10 starts. In 2027, he will race in Cup full-time for 23XI Racing

Front Row Motorsports re-signed its three current NASCAR Cup Series drivers – Todd Gilliland, Zane Smith and Noah Gragson – for the 2027 season. 

FRM fielded a fourth entry as recently as this year's Daytona 500 for Chandler Smith and his longtime partner, QuickTie. While nothing is confirmed, Riggs' insistence, persistence and partners and FRM's history mean that anticipated Cup start could come in February – especially if he can win the NCTS championship this year.

Any other starts would rely on Riggs and organization finding partners to back the entry or relying on another team, like Rick Ware Racing, for help to field Riggs in some races. 

Actually going full-time in the Cup Series is a murkier path for Riggs. However, Gragson appears to be on the hot seat and a one-year deal after two seasons with statistics lagging behind his teammates. If Gragson continues, that could turn into an opportunity for Riggs.

Elsewhere, it gets tougher as an NCTS driver with (so far) no Cup experience. In 2028, the only team with a confirmed open seat is Trackhouse Racing after Connor Zilisch leaves.

Riggs is the son of former NASCAR Cup Series driver Scott Riggs but that hasn't made it easy for him to earn his spot in the sport.

Riggs' success in the CARS Tour attracted the interest of Jeff Coffey's Infinity Communications Group that sponsored him in three NCTS starts in 2022. That turned into three NCTS starts and three NOAPS starts in 2023 – and landing at FRM full-time in 2024.

Since then, Riggs has attracted other sponsors. However, Infinity has been his primary sponsor in at least one race this season and in 2025.

In 2026, Riggs will start the Chase for the NCTS championship 25 points ahead of Kaden Honeycutt heading into the postseason opener at Bristol Motor Speedway.