The entire NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national championship battle comes down to this weekend. Layne Riggs, who has led the points standings nearly all season long, leads the two-time and defending national champion Peyton Sellers by four points heading into the final weekend of the season.

Riggs has won 16 races across four tracks this season, taking the checkered flag at South Boston Speedway, Dominion Raceway, Wake County Speedway and Hickory Motor Speedway. Between all of those wins, plus 29 top-five finishes and 35 top-10 finishes, Riggs has put himself in a solid position to claim the national championship in his first season chasing it.

Meanwhile, Sellers has won 15 times between South Boston Speedway and Dominion Raceway, and finds himself just four points behind Riggs in a season which he didn’t have any plans to chase the national championship.

Riggs has made 40 starts this season, while Sellers has made 33 starts as they enter the final weekend. NASCAR takes a driver’s best 18 finishes towards the national championship standings.

FloRacing caught up with both Riggs and Sellers this week to talk about their mindsets entering this weekend, and what their plans may be to find full fields and as many points as possible.

VIDEO: Layne Riggs is Business as Usual Entering NASCAR National Championship Showdown

Riggs mentioned that he may try to run races on Friday night at either Wake County Speedway in North Carolina, or Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Virginia. Both tracks are running double features, but Riggs said he doesn’t know how many cars either track will get and whether it will be worth it to head to one of those two tracks to race.

Sellers said he most likely will not be racing on Friday night. His whole focus is on Saturday’s twin features at Dominion, where Riggs will also be racing. 

VIDEO: Peyton Sellers in Familiar Position Chasing Third NASCAR National Championship

So the stage is now set. Four points is the difference between elation and frustration. Layne Riggs is on the cusp of his first national championship. Peyton Sellers is on the precipice of becoming the fourth driver to win three or more NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national championships. 

And the best part is we all get to see it live on FloRacing, along with the SMART Modified Tour, from Dominion Raceway on Saturday night.

Sammy Smith Set to Repeat As ARCA Menards Series East Champion

The top ranked driver in our August Pavement Power Rankings is one race away from his second straight ARCA Menards Series East championship. He just has to survive “The Last Great Colosseum” of Bristol Motor Speedway Thursday night to get the job done.

With 31 cars entered for Thursday’s combination ARCA Menards Series/ARCA Menards Series East Bush’s Beans 200, Smith just has to finish 28th or better to beat Taylor Gray for his second ARCA Menards Series East championship in a row.

Smith is also closing in on the ARCA Sioux Chief Showdown title this year as well. For those that are unaware of what that is, the Sioux Chief Showdown is a season within a season set up for those drivers that are not old enough to run on the bigger race tracks on the greater ARCA Menards Series schedule. Points are awarded at each short track and road course event on the schedule.

Smith leads the Sioux Chief Showdown by 26 points over Jesse Love, meaning that he just has to finish 27th or better to win this championship.

A chance to win two championships in one night doesn’t come around very often, so Thursday at Bristol Motor Speedway has the potential to be an evening Sammy Smith will never forget.

Jack of All Trades

This past Saturday at Riverhead Raceway, Jack Handley Jr. went to victory lane in a NASCAR Modified, the premier division at Riverhead, for the first time in his racing career. Handley won the Cecil Palm Tree 160 in thrilling fashion over defending track champion Kyle Soper.

Handley has come through the ranks at Riverhead, winning in Blunderbust competition (similar to Street Stocks for those unfamiliar with Riverhead Raceway lingo), and in Super Pro Truck competition. 

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Watch: Photo Finish Scores Jack Handley Jr. His First NASCAR Modified Victory At Riverhead Raceway

He moved up to the headlining Modified division at the start of this season, and every night led to Saturday night. A restart with six laps to go with Soper, the hottest Modified driver on Long Island over the last few years, right to his outside with newer tires. But Handley never wavered. He drove smooth corners for 23 of the final 24 corners, until he slipped on the exit of Turn 4.

It can probably be said that Soper cut Handley a little bit of a break. He drove cleanly, where he could have used the nerf bar or the side bars that make Modifieds so cool to look at. But he didn’t. He settled for second with a clean race car in a photo finish.

“I can’t even tell you what happened in that race,” said a stunned Handley Jr. in victory lane. “I’m in disbelief right now. I feel like we didn’t even win it. That race was so long we went from the back to the front and pitted a couple of times. It’s just crazy how these races can play out. I just said these have to be the best six laps of my life, and we held on.”

National Championship Points

NASCAR Roots On FloRacing This Week

Friday

6:30 p.m. ET – 2022 Rebel Weekend Night 1 at Autodrome Granby

Saturday

5 p.m. ET – NASCAR Finale at Dominion Raceway

6 p.m. ET – Late Models and Modifieds at Jennerstown Speedway

6 p.m. ET – NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and Weekly Racing at Riverhead Raceway

6:30 p.m. ET – 2022 Rebel Weekend Night 2 at Autodrome Granby

7 p.m. ET – Championship Night at Hickory Motor Speedway

7 p.m. ET – NASCAR Weekly Racing at Florence Motor Speedway

7 p.m. ET – Twin Late Model features at Langley Speedway

8:30 p.m. ET – Sprint Cars and Modifieds at Meridian Speedway

9 p.m. ET – Championship Night at Evergreen Speedway