Former NASCAR Late Model Stock Car standout Scott Riggs of Durham, N.C., was positioned as a dark horse favorite for the series championship after being signed by Ultra Motorsports owner Jimmy Smith to drive his factory-backed No. 2 Team ASE Dodge Ram in 2001.

Riggs, 30, had made only 19 career starts heading into the 2001 season, but he made the most of his limited schedule in 2000 and finished 20th in the driver standings after making 17 starts for three different owners. Riggs had one top-5 finish, at Richmond and scored eight top-10 finishes.

Riggs made the most of being in the right place at the right time to boost his career in a big way in 2000. Coming off a ninth place finish at Martinsville Speedway for Long Brothers Racing, Riggs replaced Mike Cope in Impact Motorsports' No. 86 Dodge. The two-time Late Model Stock Car champion at Southern National Speedway in Kenley N.C., who counts 60 career victories and who's also competed on the Slim Jim All Pro Series, posting eight top-10 finishes in 13 races during the 1998 season, responded by finishing among the top-10 in three of his first four starts and qualified among the top-10 seven times.