Scott_Riggs

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Scott Riggs

Russell Scott Riggs (born January 1, 1971) is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. Riggs drives the #66 State Water Heaters Chevrolet Impala SS for Haas CNC Racing.

Early career

Riggs began his racing career at the age of fourteen in the American Motorcycle Association, where he won the State Championship in North Carolina two years in a row. At the age of seventeen, he began racing the NASCAR mini stock division, and won twelve races over his first three seasons. He continued to race in that series over the next decade, and was a two-time champion at Southern National Speedway.

In 1999, Riggs made his major-league NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck Series at Indianapolis Raceway Park, driving the #84 for Long Brothers Racing. He started seventh and finished nineteenth. He also competed at Richmond International Raceway, where he finished 23rd. In 2000, he finished ninth at Martinsville Speedway for Long, when he was hired to drive the #86 RC Cola Dodge Ram for Impact Motorsports, where he had seven top-tens. Towards the end of the season, he was released from Impact, and competed in one final race at California Speedway for Brevak Racing, finishing sixteenth. The following season, he drove for Ultra Motorsports, where he picked up five wins, the first coming at Martinsville. He finished fifth in points at the end of the season.

Nationwide Series

In 2002, Riggs moved to the Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) to drive the #10 Nestlé Nesquik Ford Taurus for ppc Racing. He won his first race at Nashville Superspeedway, then won again two weeks later at California. He finished tenth in points at the end of the season, earning him Rookie of the Year honors. The next season, he picked up two more wins including a thrilling last-lap pass for a victory at Gateway International Raceway and finished sixth in points. He also won the Most Popular Driver award.

Sprint Cup Series

In 2004, Riggs signed to drive the #10 Valvoline Chevrolet Monte Carlo for MB2 Motorsports. Qualifying for all but one race that season, he had a fifth-place finish at Dover International Speedway and finished 29th in points, fifth in the Rookie of the Year standings. In 2005, he won his first pole at Martinsville, and went on to have a second-place finish at Michigan International Speedway.

At the end of the year, Riggs and Valvoline left for Evernham Motorsports. In 2006, Riggs failed to make the Daytona 500 because of a mechanical error in qualifying and a lack of owner points from the previous season (from the former #91 team). The #10 team finished the 2006 season high enough in owners' points to guarantee themselves a starting spot in the first 5 races in 2007. Riggs had back-to-back top-10 finishes at Martinsville and Texas. Riggs also won the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 and the NEXTEL Open exhibition race at Charlotte. He won the NEXTEL Open, leading all but one lap, and advanced to the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge where he finished tenth. In the Coca-Cola 600, Riggs led 90 laps, but a pit road violation took him out of contention and he finished 13th. His highest ranking in the 2006 NEXTEL Cup points standings has been 18th. Riggs best finish so far in the 2006 Nextel Cup season is a 4th place finish which came at the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Scott won the pole in the Bank of America 500, sweeping both poles at Charlotte.

Riggs struggled in 2007, falling out of the top-35 in owner's points, and began failing to qualify for several races. During the summer, Riggs did not renew his contract with Evernham, and on October 3, 2007 it was revealed that Riggs had signed a contract to drive one of Haas CNC Racing's Chevrolets for the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He was replaced in the #10 car for the last two races of 2007 by Patrick Carpentier.

Riggs' future is uncertain beyond 2008, as he will be losing his ride to Ryan Newman at the new Stewart Haas Racing (Two time NASCAR Cup champion Tony Stewart has bought half of the team).