Kasey Kahne and Scott Riggs each got off to a slow start at testing. Credit: Autostock

Riggs glad to be on other side of fence this season

Driver says missing 2006 Daytona 500 kept his team sharp, focused

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- There's a hierarchy in the garage area at Daytona International Speedway: the haves and the have-nots.

The haves, like defending champion Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr., have stalls that face the track. It's a straight shot from the garages to the track and back.

PRESEASON THUNDER Of the 25 fastest times during the only test session Monday, Scott Riggs wasn't among them.  •   Complete speeds, click here

For them, a January test session is one more chance to fine-tune cars already locked in to the Daytona 500 lineup.

The have-nots are scattered here and there, out of sight -- literally and figuratively. It's a convoluted trip through the garage area to pit road, very much like the path they'll have to take to make the field in February.

Some, like Sterling Marlin and Ward Burton, didn't fare well enough in 2006 to break the top 35. Others, like Michael Waltrip Racing, are new teams. In every case, they will have to rely on a tricky combination of speed and luck to land one of the no more than eight open slots.

They're here to wring every last hundredth of a second out of their cars.

If something goes wrong, there's no soft landing. Ask Scott Riggs, who is now one of the haves.

"This year, we're looking at how dangerous the 150s [Gatorade Duels] might be with people trying to get into the race versus last year, where we had to be the ones who were making it dangerous sometimes, trying to take chances to make sure we got in," Riggs said.

Riggs missed the 2006 Daytona 500 when he finished 13th in the second qualifying race. But instead of letting that misfortune ruin the entire season, the No. 10 team found inspiration.

"In some weird way, it was something that made our team better," Riggs said. "Going through that low point right off the bat, the very first race of the year, it made us buckle down and focus even harder on one race at a time.

"It made us almost have something to prove. It put us behind the eight ball to start the season out, but it gave us all something to shoot for, made it something to strive for."

Riggs said the team still feels it can be better.

"We feel like we have a team that was capable of winning races last year. We just didn't do it," he said. "This year, we can go after winning races and trying to be more consistent, being competitive every race and a lot more consistent than we were last year."

And his advice for the guys on the other side of the garage area?

"Just stay focused, stay sharp on what you're doing," Riggs said. "Pay attention to your surroundings and the people around you in the race.

"Even though you might have a fast enough car to get in, there are things that happen sometimes that are out of your control and you just have to stay focused and confident on who you are and what your team is."