Atlanta: Scott Riggs preview

Riggs Looking For Another Successful Atlanta Finish

HAMPTON, Ga. (March 9, 2004)-- Scott Riggs is looking to continue his successful finishes at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS)this weekend when he visits the 1.5-mile oval to compete in Sunday's Golden Corral 500. Riggs, driver of the No. 10 Valvoline Chevrolet,finished fourth (2002) and sixth (2003) in his only two attempts in Atlanta as a driver in the NASCAR Busch Series. He hopes his past successes and last week's test session at AMS will help Team Valvoline score atop-10 or better finish at this weekend's Nextel Cup race.

The following are Riggs' views on AMS and the Raybestos Rookie of the Year chase.

On Atlanta Motor Speedway:
"Atlanta is a great race track.It's a fast banked, 1.5-mile track and it's fun to drive. When you step on the gas, you get up to speed so quickly that it almost feels like a Daytona or Talladega, like a restrictor plate engine.You're going so fast that it takes a little bit of practice to get comfortable. Then it all becomes relevant and you just concentrate on hitting your marks.

"I think Turn 1 is a crucial area because it's the roughest part of the track, but it's also probably the turn you head into fastest because of the dogleg.If you can have a car that is consistently comfortable with Turn 1, you should be able to qualify and run well."

On his Busch Series success at Atlanta Motor Speedway:
"I've had some good finishes at Atlanta the last two years in the Busch Series races there. I think I've got a pretty good grip on the track. I like the 1.5-mile tracks. I tend to qualify and run well on tracks like Atlanta, Charlotte and Texas.The biggest difference between Atlanta and those tracks is how fast Atlanta is."

On testing at Atlanta Motor Speedway (March 2 & 3):
"We had a good test in Atlanta last week.The Valvoline Chevy did well, but we thought Joe's (teammate Joe Nemechek) car was better.We're going to take his setup to the track this weekend, as a baseline, and see what we can do from there. We're confident that we can get a good finish.

"Last week in Las Vegas, Joe and I had cars that were a little different. I had a different chassis and he had a different body.This week we're going to take racecars that are the same and hope it will help us both run better and understand what the cars are doing."

On the Raybestos Rookie of the Year chase:
"It's really early in the year to be speculating on anything.Obviously we wish we could have had some better finishes to this point, but we know we're a strong team and that we're capable of competing with the other rookies every week. We just got off to a slower start.

"Everyone thought this rookie class was going to put on a good show, and I'd say they're getting exactly what they bargained for. It's going to be a showdown to the end of the season and we expect to be right in the middle of it."

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