Scott Riggs and the No. 10 Valvoline team seeks it's second top-five finish on a restrictor-plate track this year. Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Riggs poised for more superspeedway success

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- The anticipation of racing at Talladega Superspeedway for Sunday's Aaron's 499 has Scott Riggs feeling upbeat.

The Valvoline driver has enjoyed success on superspeedways during his two years in the Nextel Cup Series and posted a strong career-high fourth-place finish in this season's Daytona 500 opener.

	SCOTT RIGGS •   Driver's Page •   2005 Statistics •   Follow Team CENTRIX •   Superstore: Riggs gear! Inside the Numbers Scott Riggs in 2005 Track Start Finish Daytona 12 4 Fontana 12 33 Las Vegas 4 31 Atlanta 17 9 Bristol 28 10 Martinsville 1 21 Fort Worth 14 32 Phoenix 16 18 Averages 13.0 19.8

"We're taking the same Valvoline Chevy to Talladega that ran so well in Daytona," Riggs said. "Our car came back from the [Daytona] 500 pretty much unscathed so we were lucky.

"This entire organization has a history of excellent superspeedway cars and barring any bad luck, I'm confident that we should have a good showing this weekend."

But avoiding the misfortunes at NASCAR's biggest track is the key for a successful finish.

"When you have 43 cars running neck-and-neck at those speeds something is bound to happen," Riggs said. "The most important part of restrictor-plate racing is avoiding the wrecks. Starting in front and staying in front is the best way to steer clear of trouble."

Riggs has proven that he knows how to post strong qualifying runs on the monster oval. He recorded two top-five starts during last year's Talladega races and posted an 11th-place finish in the fall event.

"I'm confident we'll have a speedy race car," Riggs said. "We just need to stay out of trouble and with a little luck we'll bring home that finish we've been looking for. I'm also hoping we can use this weekend to help us climb back up in driver points."

Riggs is currently 19th in Cup series standings.

"This Valvoline team has performed well but hasn't brought home some of the good finishes we should have," Riggs said. "Ironically, the races we've carried our best car to are the ones where we've had the worst results.

"I'm hopeful we can get on track this weekend and start working our way back toward the top 10. I don't like to think about where we could be if we hadn't had those few bad finishes, but the only thing we can do now is focus on getting back to the front."

Riggs is hoping that journey will begin this weekend in Talladega.