FONTANA, Calif., April 27 (UPI) -- Scott Riggs drove from last to first Saturday, holding on in a six-lap sprint and winning the NASCAR Busch series Auto Club 300 at California Speedway.
After qualifying sixth on owner's points, Riggs was forced to start last when he blew the engine in his Ford Taurus. A new rule forbids teams from using more than one engine during the course of qualifying and the race.
Nevertheless, Riggs drove through the field and led 49 of 150 laps. He had led just 55 laps in eight previous races this year.
"I had to start from dead last because of the motor change," Riggs said. "Harold (crew chief Harold Holly) said, `Don't worry about the car. It's gonna have plenty of bite.'"
With nine laps to go, the red flag came out after Chad Chaffin's Pontiac Grand Prix got loose and slammed into the wall. Debris was removed from the track and the cars drove three laps under the yellow flag before the green flag dropped again.
Riggs spun his tires on the restart and nearly was overtaken by Jeff Green. But he held him off and eventually widened his lead to nearly a second, cruising to his second victory of the season.
Riggs averaged 131.403 miles per hour and climbed from fifth to third in the Busch series standings. The former truck series driver leads the rookie standings.
Green started third and finished second in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. It was his fifth straight top-five finish.
"Our car was good," he said. "We were just a little bit too tight for that short run."
During the sprint, Stacey Compton overtook series points leader Jack Sprague for third.
