Riggs-Baldwin parting ways after Coke 600

Scott Riggs is parting ways with #36-Tommy Baldwin Racing following the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the driver said Sunday. Riggs has qualified for eight of the first 12 races with a top finish of 25th in the Daytona 500. Riggs ran only 54 laps at Richmond and 101 laps at Darlington before his day ended because of mechanical issues. Riggs said Sunday he wasn’t optimistic that the #36 Toyota team could continue to compete for the full length of future events without significant sponsorship and that, combined with the team’s performance, made it time for him to leave. He will start the Coca-Cola 600 in the 43rd spot. “I’m a competitor and I’m a racer," Riggs said. “… It kills my soul to know that we go to the race track and we’re not going to be competitive. Even if the car is competitive, we’re not going to be there around at the end to be competitive. I knew when we first started this deal it was going to be a possibility, I knew it was going to be hard and a struggle to get sponsorship and get it off the ground. … I just know we needed something to change." Riggs said he and Baldwin talked about the situation this past weekend and the decision was made for him to leave. SceneDaily