(born
January 1 ,
1971 ) is a
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver from the Bahama community of
Durham County, North Carolina . Riggs is currently the driver of the #10
Valvoline /
Stanley Tools Dodge Charger for
Gillett Evernham Motorsports with teammates
Kasey Kahne and
Elliott Sadler .
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
R.C. 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.
In 2002, he moved to the Busch 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 and finished sixth in points. He also won the Most Popular Driver award.
In
2004 , Riggs signed to drive the #10 Valvoline
Chevrolet Monte Carlo for
MB2/MBV 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. 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 .
The
2007 Season has been a struggle for Scott as even though he was guaranteed a spot in the first five races of 2007 he has dropped out of the top 35 in owners points and has had to race his way into the field every week.
As of September 1st 2007, Scott is 37th in drivers points, has started only 19 of 24 races and has 1 top ten in the season. For the
NEXTEL Cup Race at
Watkins Glen , Valvoline Evernham Racing placed
Patrick Carpentier in the #10 hoping to secure a top 35 owners points spot.
On August 1st, 2007 Scott Riggs became a free agent as he hasn't renewed his contract with Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Scott has talked to other teams like has also said he would like to keep Scott Riggs with the team for the 2008 season.
