Scott Riggs is ready to tackle 'Dega after missing Daytona. Credit: Autostock

Fast out of the Shootout: Riggs revs up in practice

No. 10 team preparing for first superspeedway start of season

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- For Sunday's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, most Nextel Cup teams put their Daytona 500 car in the hauler and headed for Alabama.

Aaron's 499 Happy Hour Speeds Pos. Driver Speed Time 1. R. Gordon 194.141 49.325 2. S. Riggs 194.050 49.348 3. C. Edwards 193.185 49.569 4. D. Hamlin 193.174 49.572 5. J. Gordon 193.072 49.598 6. G. Biffle 192.707 49.692 7. Sorenson 192.688 49.697 8. J. Green 192.680 49.699 9. B. Labonte 192.618 49.715 10. J. McMurray 192.529 49.738 • Complete speeds, click here • 1st practice speeds, click here

Not Scott Riggs and the No. 10 Dodge team. They brought the car that finished fourth in the Budweiser Shootout instead.

Of course, finishing 13th in the Gatorade Duels and missing the Daytona 500 sort of makes that decision a lot easier.

"We chose to bring our Bud Shootout car as the primary this weekend because it seemed to suck up in the draft better than the 500 car," crew chief Rodney Childers said. "It handled worse, but Talladega isn't so much about handling as it is being able to suck up in the draft."

Riggs and the rest of the team have rebounded nicely from their Daytona 500 misfortune, posting top-10 finishes at Martinsville and Texas before a Lap 88 crash at Phoenix relegated him to a 38th-place finish.

Still, having never qualified outside of the top 10 at Talladega in four tries has Riggs enthused.

"Talladega is less about handling and more about horsepower," Riggs said.

Inside the Numbers Scott Riggs in 2006 Site Start Finish Rank Daytona DNQ -- -- Fontana 14 19 40 Las Vegas 22 28 38 Atlanta 29 11 32 Bristol 38 41 36 Martinsville 11 10 30 Texas 22 7 28 Phoenix 24 38 29 • Complete '06 Stats | Driver Page SUPERSTORE •   Get Scott Riggs merchandise!

"That's what it takes to lead the draft. I had good engines last year at MBV and that's why I qualified so well with them. This year, Evernham Motorsports has really made some gains in the engine department and I can feel that behind the wheel."

Riggs certainly showed some strength in Friday's two practice sessions, running second behind Robby Gordon in the final practice after being eighth in the first one.

Childers said the car may be even better than it was in the February exhibition race, thanks to some minor modifications.

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"When we got back from Daytona, we worked on the nose and fenders of the Shootout car," he said. "When we took it to the wind tunnel, it handled better than the Daytona primary, so that just backed up what we already wanted to do."

There were no incidents in either practice, although the sunshine and warmer temperatures caused Happy Hour speeds to be about a mile an hour slower than Joe Nemechek's 195.472 mph in the cooler first practice session.

Michael Waltrip, who needs to qualify on speed to make Sunday's show, was 41st in the final practice of the 48 cars that made at least one lap. Kevin Harvick, who was third-quickest in the opening practice, was the only driver who decided to keep his car in the garage during Happy Hour.

Qualifying for Sunday's race is set for 11:40 a.m. ET on Saturday. The forecast for Sunday has improved, with cooler temperatures and a 30 percent chance of scattered showers.