Instead, he took a chance with new car owner Tommy Baldwin.
It paid off Thursday when Riggs qualified for the Daytona 500, giving the sport's premier event a true underdog story.
"It's very satisfying for us," said Riggs, who finished eighth in the first qualifier. "Considering how fast we've come together, all the things that we've put together in one little shop, the guys there working that are volunteers.
"I don't think anyone has any high expectations of us. We want to under-promise and over-deliver."
Baldwin, a former crew chief and competition director who lost his job when Bill Davis Racing folded last season, decided to start Tommy Baldwin Racing in early January and try to run a full season in the Sprint Cup Series. He bought equipment, race cars and parts from Bill Davis, Bobby Hamilton Racing and Red Bull Racing, then spent five weeks piecing together the No. 36 Toyota with the help of a dozen volunteers.
Baldwin secured sponsorship for the first three races and plans to keep racing as long as possible. He knows making the Daytona 500 could lead to more opportunities.
"It's a great start to the year and a great momentum booster for our race team and everybody involved," Baldwin said. "It lets everybody know we're for real. I'm going to every single race. I'm going to run every single race until I run out of money and I'm going to load up and go to the next one until I can find some partners and people that want to come on board.
"I'm not sitting here and begging anybody for money. I want to help people who come on board with us."
Riggs, who had a surprising fourth-place finish in the 2005 Daytona 500, spent the first four years of his Cup career (2004-07) driving for Ray Evernham and last season with Haas-CNC. This is, by far, a much tougher challenge.
"It's not the ideal situation," Riggs said. "I don't think Tommy or myself looked at last year and said, 'Hey, let's go race next year on a shoestring budget with no major sponsors and see if we can race all the races.' That's not what we want. I think we both have the kind of mentality that we are backed into the corner and we are here to try to prove ourselves and fight our way out. "
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NEWMAN WRECKS: Defending Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman has endured a rough start in his bid to repeat. Newman, who moved from Penske Racing to Stewart-Haas Racing after last season, blew an engine during practice Wednesday and then wrecked in the second qualifying race Thursday.
David Reutimann hit Newman from behind on lap 47, sending his No. 39 Chevrolet into the wall. Newman got out of his car, walked toward the edge of the track and yelled something at Reutimann as he drove by under caution.
"Reutimann is a good name for him because he root a man right out of the way," Newman said later.
He finished 24th, nine spots behind Reutimann.
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NEAR SELLOUT: Despite the reeling economy, all but about 1,000 of the 167,000 grandstand seats for Sunday's Daytona 500 had been sold.
Robin Braig, president of Daytona International Speedway, said he expected the rest of those tickets to be gone by Saturday.
But it hasn't been an easy sell. The track lowered prices on 5,600 seats from $99 to $55.
"Normally, right after the Homestead event (in November), it's tough to get the noise level going again because there's Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years," he said. "We've never sold a lot of tickets in that couple month period. But then the phones normally would ring."
It didn't happen this year -- at least not until the track slashed prices. Now, the only seats remaining are high-end ones priced at $380, also a sign of the times.
"For the first time ever, the tickets we have left are our best seats," he said. "It's usually just the opposite. We have those available and that's a sign of the economy. People can't afford the high-end seats."
Last year's 500, the 50th anniversary of the Great American Race, sold out the previous October.
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TRUEX ESCAPES: Some slick driving and quick thinking helped Martin Truex Jr. hold on to his pole position.
Truex led 32 laps early in the first 150-mile qualifier and appeared to be one of the stronger cars in the field before almost losing it late when he got tapped from behind and spun out.
His No. 1 Chevrolet slid several hundred feet but managed to avoid hitting the wall and remain intact. He would have been sent to the back of the field if he had to go to a backup car.
"I was just hanging on," Truex said. "I saw where the wall was and I was doing my best to make sure I didn't head for it. ... You are just looking around and looking in your mirrors hoping, praying. There is no two ways about it. You have to have luck on your side."
The right rear corner sustained some minor damage, but Truex expects it to be fine by Sunday.
"It is the best car as far as speed goes that I have ever had at any plate track," he said. "That is encouraging. We just need to work on the handling and get it a little bit better."
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COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN: Tony Stewart idolized four-time Indy 500 winner A.J. Foyt growing up in Indiana, and made it a point to ask Foyt for permission to use his No. 14 when Stewart decided to start his own race team in 2009.
Foyt gave his blessing and watched from the pit box as Stewart unveiled his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Chevrolet in the first 150-mile qualifier Thursday. Stewart even made sure to give Foyt a radio in case he had any suggestions. At least, that's what Foyt thought.
"It had the button on it and everything," Stewart said. "But it didn't do anything when you pushed it. Can you imagine trying to sit there and drive with him yelling at you?"
Stewart didn't need much advice during his second-place finish behind Jeff Gordon, and if Foyt was annoyed, it didn't show. Stewart said his hero gave him an "A-minus" for his performance.
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BURNOUTS: Dale Earnhardt Jr. might not have a win in two races at Daytona during Speedweeks, but don't count out the Hendrick Motorsports driver in Sunday's 500. Earnhardt led more than two dozen laps in the Budweiser Shootout before getting caught up in an accident, and he came from a lap down to finish seventh in the second qualifying race Thursday. ... Crew member Kyle Roland was injured on pit road during the first qualifying race Thursday and taken to a hospital. Track officials said he was conscious, but had no other update on the extent of his injuries. Roland works for Jeremy Mayfield's team and was on loan to Kirk Shelmerdine for the first race. ... NASCAR rookie and former open-wheel driver Scott Speed had to switch to a backup car and will have to start at the back of the field in the Daytona 500.
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AP Auto Racing Writer Mike Harris and AP Sports Writer Will Graves contributed to this report.
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