Carson Hocevar wins in Kansas after intense battle and disqualification of Riggs

Carson Hocevar claimed victory in the Heart of Health Care 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway following an action-packed finish that ended with a major post-race disqualification. The driver of Spire Motorsports' No. 7 Chevrolet earned his first win of 2025 and the fifth of his Truck Series career.

Thrilling finish with last-lap drama

The race's final moments delivered unforgettable drama when Layne Riggs, closing in on Hocevar, made an inside move on the last lap. Riggs' No. 34 Ford from Front Row Motorsports made contact with the left rear of Hocevar's Silverado, sending both trucks scraping against the wall.

Both drivers managed to keep control of their trucks after the contact. Hocevar crossed the finish line just 0.262 seconds ahead of Riggs, who appeared to have secured second place at Kansas for the second consecutive race.

"I thought I'd give the fans some excitement," Hocevar joked after climbing from his truck for the victory lane interview. "The 34 truck (Riggs) was incredibly fast. Our truck performed great in short runs - I never expected him to close that much ground, but he had tremendous speed."

"I thought I'd give the fans some excitement. The 34 (Riggs) was incredibly fast. Our truck performed great in short runs - I never expected him to close that much ground, but he had tremendous speed."

Disqualification shakes up final results

While the on-track battle determined the initial finishing order, post-race technical inspection dramatically altered the outcome. Officials found an irregularity with the deck lid on Riggs' No. 34 truck, resulting in his complete disqualification.

This revelation proved crucial: even if Riggs had passed Hocevar on the final lap, his victory would have been nullified by the technical violation. The penalty proved especially devastating as Riggs had mounted an impressive comeback to put himself in position to challenge for the win.

William Byron became the primary beneficiary, moving up to second place after watching the final duel from third position. "I was just hoping they'd have trouble, but it didn't happen," said Byron, who battled handling issues with his No. 07 Spire Motorsports truck in the closing stages, finishing 0.718 seconds behind the winner.

"I gave it everything I had," Riggs explained before learning of his disqualification. "We were in a tough spot track position-wise. In the third stage, we were about to take the lead, but we pitted under green and that hurt us - I had to drive from 16th in that run to catch him." Words that took on a more bitter tone after the technical inspection erased him from the official results.

Challenges for the contenders

Both Riggs and Corey Heim, who finished third, lost ground during a green-flag pit cycle midway through the final stage. While Riggs recovered to challenge for the win before his disqualification, Heim received a penalty for an improper restart that hurt his chances.

Heim's race featured multiple setbacks. After leading 52 of the first 53 laps and winning the first stage, he lost 15 positions on pit road when his rear tire changer's air wrench failed. Though he fought back to fourth place, he lost all that progress when the sixth caution - for a Frankie Muniz incident - interrupted the pit cycle and left him one lap down.

At that point, Hocevar - who stayed on the lead lap during his stop - took control of a race that saw seven cautions in the final 33 laps. In total, Hocevar led three times for 75 laps.

Heim compounded his problems by moving to the outside lane behind Toni Breidinger's truck before the restart line on lap 103. Though his bid for a third consecutive Kansas win was thwarted, Heim still managed to recover to finish third.

"It all started with that air wrench failure - no fault of my pit crew," Heim said. "They did an amazing job all night. It seemed like a freak thing and then it caught us at the worst time during the green-flag sequence. I had to get the lap back and start over, and then I got out of line and got penalized for my mistake. A real rollercoaster day."

Rookie Gio Ruggiero finished fourth, followed by Stewart Friesen, Brandon Jones, pole-sitter Jake Garcia, Kaden Honeycutt, Grant Enfinger and Daniel Hemric.

Final Kansas Race Results