Something warm and fuzzy at the beach

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The feel-good story of Speedweeks is the success of driver Scott Riggs and fledgling owner Tommy Baldwin Jr.

First of all, let's just go on the record. Let's not say it's "arguable." It's true. Riggs is the nicest guy in the Sprint Cup Series. There's some competition, sure. But, from the first time the 38-year-old Riggs, who grew up in Bahama (buh-HAY-muh), first gained some fame in what were then Craftsman Trucks and Busch Series cars, he has been good-humored, compassionate, humble and friendly.

Riggs has had his moments. He finished second in a race at Michigan International Speedway Aug. 21, 2005 and has won three poles in his 167 races at the Cup level. He even had a seventh-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway last fall.

Career-wise, Riggs just drifted along for a while and things stopped working. He lost his ride with Ray Evernham and then had the misfortune of warming a seat at Haas CNC. He didn't know it at the time, but when that team was basically handed over to Tony Stewart, there wasn't any way Riggs was going to hang onto a ride when Stewart and Ryan Newman became available.

Ditto Baldwin. He's received his share of praise and won his share of races over the years but was stuck in a declining situation that eventually resulted in the disappearance of Bill Davis Racing.

Riggs and Baldwin joined forces and came to Daytona International Speedway without sponsorship and with only a dozen employees. Riggs raced his way into the Daytona 500 with an eighth-place finish in the first of two qualifying races on Thursday. For now, and apparently the next race in California, sponsorship has been secured.

Many multi-car teams these days have 75-100 employees per car, at least at the Cup level. This is as "old school" as leather helmets. It's as heartwarming as baby ducks and fuzzy pups. If Baldwin lost the transporter and put that white No. 36 on a flatbed trailer, he'd probably find the ghost of Smokey Yunick next to him behind the pit wall.

Imagine if the team could build on the fleeting success of a 150-mile qualifying race. It would go beyond Harry Hogge talking to his barn-built race car in "Days of Thunder." The No. 36 could become the NASCAR equivalent of Seabiscuit.

"This is grass-roots right here," said Riggs. "I mean, you go to the shop, and it's a lot of guys who are just volunteers, passionate about racing. They're addicted to the racing bug that we're all addicted to. They put their hearts and souls into it from, faith in Tommy (Baldwin) to the whole organization.

"To be able to scrape something together from a month and a half ago having nothing, to be able to put something together, come here, run well, be pretty strong in the pack and get ourselves in the race, it speaks volumes."

Being the nicest guy in the business doesn't have any correlation to being the best driver, but, pun intended, it would be nice.

            You can reach Monte Dutton at mdutton@gastongazette.com.