Naval Base Coronado hosted its first NASCAR race on Friday night, and the Craftsman Truck Series delivered exactly what a debut street course race should: chaos, contact, a genuinely wild overtime finish, and at least one heated confrontation on pit road after the checkered flag. All drivers were okay.
Layne Riggs took the win for Front Row Motorsports — his fourth of the 2026 season, ninth of his career — but he had to survive a final lap that would've given a race director a heart attack.
The Final Lap: Everything Happened at Once
On the final overtime restart, Kaden Honeycutt ran wide and slammed the wall at Turn 2 exit, collecting Chandler Smith. Both were suddenly out of contention. That put Daniel Hemric into the lead — briefly. Tyler Reif muscled past in a full-contact battle, then proceeded to drag a smoke-billowing truck around the final lap with Riggs all over his bumper.
Then came the moment everyone will be talking about: Reif blew the final chicane on the final lap. He missed it completely. Riggs drove by, they slammed doors coming out of the corner, and Reif stopped on track to serve his penalty for missing the chicane. Riggs crossed the line first. Hemric — who had somehow slammed the wall coming to the checkered flag but still made it — finished second. Kaz Grala was third.
The Final Lap, Blow-by-Blow
- Overtime restart: Honeycutt runs wide → wall → collects Chandler Smith → both out
- Hemric takes the lead; Reif forces past with heavy contact → Hemric's truck damaged
- Reif leads final lap with smoke billowing, Riggs hunting him down
- Reif misses the final chicane on the final lap — runs it completely
- Riggs drives through, they slam doors at corner exit
- Reif stops to serve drive-through penalty → Riggs wins
- Hemric hits wall on final approach but still finishes P2
- All drivers walk away uninjured
Final Order (Top 5)
- Layne Riggs, #34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
- Daniel Hemric
- Kaz Grala
- Landen Lewis
- Ty Majeski
Jimmie Johnson Leads Laps — Yes, That Jimmie Johnson
Buried in all the chaos was an extraordinary subplot: Jimmie Johnson, making a one-off Truck appearance at a track just 19 miles from where he grew up in El Cajon, California, actually led laps. After Honeycutt blew Turn 2, Johnson and the remaining trucks that had stayed out took over the front of the field. The seven-time Cup champion led laps in a NASCAR race for the first time since running full-time Cup in 2020.
"Racing near my hometown is always special," Johnson said after. And while the win didn't materialize, leading any laps on a brand-new street course you've never seen before is a statement. He and a handful of other Cup guests got a free taste of the Naval Base track before Sunday's main event — Intel they'll absolutely use tomorrow.
Kligerman vs. Andretti: The Pit Road Aftermath
Parker Kligerman was irate after the race, and he had receipts. Adam Andretti — nephew of Mario, son of Aldo, fifth career Truck start — put Kligerman in the wall on the back straight in fourth gear while the two were battling for position. By Kligerman's account, Andretti shoved him into the wall at speed, completely unprovoked by that point in the race.
Kligerman confronted Andretti on pit road post-race. The exchange, caught by multiple cameras, was pointed. Kligerman told Andretti directly: "I read Andretti, and I let him know — I have a lot of respect for that name, but he does an absolute disgrace to it."
Andretti placed 14th. Kligerman finished 18th. The incident itself — two trucks going side-by-side into a tight hairpin and getting creamed by a third — was chaotic enough on its own. The back-straight shove that followed is the part Kligerman couldn't let go. For drivers racing in a new, tight, unforgiving street circuit environment, that kind of move carries real risk.
No injuries were reported from any incident in the race. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will continue at a separate venue while the Cup Series runs the Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado on Sunday, June 22.