Scott Riggs, Tommy Baldwin Racing parting ways
Tommy Baldwin Racing's Scott Riggs has competed in seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this season. // Jim Fluharty, NASCAR Scene
CONCORD, N.C. – Scott Riggs is parting ways with Tommy Baldwin Racing following the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the driver said Sunday.
Riggs has qualified for eight of the first 12 races with a top finish of 25th in the Daytona 500. Riggs ran only 54 laps at Richmond and 101 laps at Darlington before his day ended because of mechanical issues.
Riggs said Sunday he wasn’t optimistic that the No. 36 team could continue to compete for the full length of future events without significant sponsorship and that, combined with the team’s performance, made it time for him to leave. He will start the Coca-Cola 600 in the 43rd spot.
“I’m a competitor and I’m a racer,” Riggs said. “… It kills my soul to know that we go to the race track and we’re not going to be competitive. Even if the car is competitive, we’re not going to be there around at the end to be competitive.
“I knew when we first started this deal it was going to be a possibility, I knew it was going to be hard and a struggle to get sponsorship and get it off the ground. … I just know we needed something to change.”
Riggs said he and Baldwin talked about the situation this past weekend and the decision was made for him to leave.
“To come to a track like this where just a few years ago I sat on the pole [for the 2006 Coca-Cola 600], won the [Sprint] Open, led the 600 toward the end, a place I know I can get the job done and I come here and can barely make the field, it hurts too much,” he said.
Signed by Evernham Motorsports in 2004, Riggs drove for four years for Ray Evernham and then for Haas CNC Racing last year. He has a best career finish of 20th in points in 2006.
“I want somewhere that I can grow, I can build, I can race and be competitive,” Riggs said. “I’m more confident in what I’m doing behind the wheel than ever before. … I’m familiar with the cars. Me being familiar with the car, me understanding about the car, tire pressure, bump stops, what the car needs to feel like is still not enough to overcome the obstacles.
“Struggling to make the races and worrying about making races instead of worrying about how to win races is just backward thinking. I can’t be in a situation where that’s how we’re thinking.”
The 38-year-old Riggs, who has four career victories in Nationwide and five in Truck, said he would entertain offers in any series.
“What’s hard is going out there and trying to keep the respect of not just the fans but also the respect of your peers,” Riggs said. “You’re out there on the race track and these guys are racing for the win and they’re racing for points.
“And they’re doing all they can. And here I am knowing that we’re not going to finish the race [and it] is really soul-destroying. It kills the passion and the driver, the competitive nature, that I am. It is totally against my grain.”
