Gio Ruggiero Does it at Dega with First Truck Win

Gio Ruggiero had never raced in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series before this season’s opener at Daytona International Raceway. Now, the driver of the No. 17 Tricon Garage Toyota can proudly add “race winner” to his growing resume.

When the checkered flag waved over Talladega Superspeedway on Friday afternoon for a green/white/checkered finish, it was Ruggiero holding off a hard-charging and stage-point hungry pack of competitors to claim the victory.

It was his first NCTS win in 23 starts, and he did it in dominating fashion—earning the Pole Award, winning Stage 2, and leading a race-high 57 laps around the 2.66-mile trioval, leading six different times.

Since Ruggiero is a non-playoff driver, none of the Round of 8 drivers were able to race their way into the Championship 4 during this race. With that, three positions remain open as the Round of 8 concludes next weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

### Ruggiero Relishes First Win with Family in Attendance

“It feels great, I am so thankful to be here,” Ruggiero said in Victory Lane. “Super thankful for all the guys on the No. 17 truck. They work their ass off and we brought the best piece today. It feels great.

“We showed it in qualifying and throughout the race there. We had the fastest piece. Thanks to everyone at Toyota and everyone who supports me. It was great to win a race with my mom and dad here, as well.

“It’s a great accomplishment. We’ve been working so hard at this all year and to win in my rookie season like this is awesome, especially with the last couple of weeks with the top-fives and top-threes we’ve had.”

The 22-year-old native of Seekonk, MA, was followed across the finish line by Tricon Garage teammate and championship contender Corey Heim. This marked Tricon’s seventh win in the last nine NCTS races, with Heim earning the other six.

### Key Moments from the Race

On Lap 83, race leaders Ben Rhodes and Luke Fenhaus spun off the front stretch into the backstretch infield. The field passed by as the caution flag came out on Lap 84 instead of the white flag, setting up a green/white/checkered finish. Ruggiero reclaimed the lead and held on until the checkers waved on Lap 90.

Rounding out the top 10 were Ty Majeski, Dawson Sutton, contender Layne Riggs, Tyler Ankrum, Matt Crafton, Corey LaJoie, contenders Rajah Caruth, and Kaden Honeycutt.

### Riggs Endures Rough Path to Top Five

Layne Riggs and the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford team took an arduous path to their fifth-place finish. After qualifying, the team was caught by NASCAR officials making an illegal adjustment to their Ford. This penalty resulted in the team starting last in the 36-truck field. It will also affect them at Martinsville next weekend, as pit stall selections are based off qualifying results at Talladega.

During the race, Riggs and the No. 38 Ford driven by Chandler Smith made contact, resulting in a tire rub for Riggs. This caused a tire to go down and forced an unscheduled pit stop. The team made multiple stops for repairs throughout the race to keep their driver in the playoff hunt.

“We had the speed to run in front all day,” Riggs said post-race. “That early incident with the No. 38 was just a bad push. He was trying to help me all he could. And I really thought we could get some good points in stage two until the left front tire went down. But, thankfully the caution came out right after that.

“I feel like we had the speed to grab stage points for sure, but in the end a fifth-place finish. So we’re not in a great spot, but also not in a bad spot.”

### Playoff Picture

Martinsville Speedway is the last chance for Round of 8 drivers to make it into the championship-deciding race at Phoenix Raceway. Corey Heim, by virtue of his win at the Charlotte Roval, is already locked into the Championship 4.

Rajah Caruth is 14 points above the cut line, Tyler Ankrum eight, and Kaden Honeycutt five. Looking up at them are Ty Majeski by five points, Layne Riggs by six, Daniel Hemric by 32 points, and Grant Enfinger trailing by 40 points.

With a pivotal race ahead, the intensity is sure to be high as drivers battle for a spot in the championship finale.
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