1/18/2008
ANDY SEUSS FOLLOWS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF
A KING FOR '08 SEASON
20-Year-Old is Chosen to Drive the #47 Advance Auto Parts
Modified for Riggs Racing
How do you replace a king? That was the question that Riggs Racing faced
this off-season after the long-time driver of their Advance Auto Parts
Dodge Modified, Junior Miller, decided to scale back his racing
schedule. Together, Miller and the Riggs team won two of the last three
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships.
Success was nothing foreign to either party, the Riggs team
has won nearly 100 Modified races through the years with drivers like
Miller, Jamie Tomaino, Paul Radford, Johnny Bryant, Tony Jankowiak,
“Puddin” Swisher and Tim Arre. Miller had also won more races than
anyone could count, having earned the title “King of the Southern
Modifieds” in the process.
So the Riggs team looked high and low for a new driver and
eventually their search took them a long ways from their Martinsville,
Virginia shop. All of the way up North to Hampstead, New Hampshire in
fact, where they found 20-year-old Andy Seuss and signed him up for the
2008 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour season. Seuss will now wheel
the #47 Advance Auto Parts / Shell Dodge Modified for Riggs Racing.
Ironically, the old driver at Riggs had a lot to do with
signing up the new guy.
“Andy had run some Southern races since 2005 and I paid a
little attention to him, but it was really Junior Miller who got us to
really watch him,” said Jeff Riggs, who operates the team along with his
father David. “Junior told me to watch whoever was driving the #70 car
because that driver knew what it was all about.”
And when a driver like Junior Miller talks, you'd do best to
listen. “Yes sir, you do,” said Riggs.
Seuss feels that being selected to drive the Advance Auto
Parts Modified for the Riggs team is nothing short of a dream come true.
“When you think of Riggs Racing, the first thing that comes
to mind is all of the domination that they've had down south,” said
Seuss. “They've won races and titles and are always a threat to win
anytime that they go to the track. It is such an honor to become part of
this team. “It was a big deal just to be considered for this ride. To
get it was just amazing. Now, I'm looking forward to seeing what we can
do together. We're shooting for the Rookie of the Year title and to win
some races together.”
Seuss might be a young rising star in the sport of auto
racing, but he's already put his name on the Modified map. He has
already won a NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race at Music City
Motorplex in Nashville, despite having only run a handful of races on
the tour over the past few seasons. He's the 2006 Modified champion of
New Smyrna Speedway's World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. He has
also won the DAV Memorial at Seekonk Speedway and has built up an
impressive resume of racing for his family's #70 Modified team in a
short amount of time.
In fact, Seuss sees a lot of parallels between his family's
team and the Riggs operation.
“The Riggs fit very well with us,” said Seuss. “They are
family-oriented and they are hard workers. They take
racing seriously, but also enjoy it too. We have a lot in common and
we'll have fun together.”
So far in his brief Southern Modified career, Seuss has paid
plenty of attention to the Riggs team when Miller drove for them.
“One of the first things that I would always do at the track
would be to see what Junior was doing in practice and try to learn from
that. He wasn't always the fastest guy in practice, but you always knew
that his pace would hold up in the race. More times than not, he'd be
passing us near the end of a race and he would go on to win.”
Seuss has also discovered that the NASCAR Whelen Southern
Modified Tour is a place where he really wants to race, despite a
commute of nearly 1,000 miles from his New Hampshire home to the tracks
on the Tour schedule.
“The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour is a lot of fun.
The racing is physical, but it is also clean. You can beat and bang for
the lead, but you also know that at the end, both cars battling will
probably be pointing in the right direction. Then there is the history
of NASCAR Modified racing in the South and that is just amazing. The
crowds are impressive too. It's a great Tour and I'm looking forward to
making a home there.”
Sponsoring the Riggs Racing #47 team is just one of many ways
that Advance Auto Parts is involved in the sport of auto racing.
“It is a great honor to represent companies like Advance Auto
Parts and Shell,” said Seuss. “I have always appreciated their
involvement everywhere. Advance is involved in dirt racing, modified
racing, drag racing…you name it and they support it. I can't thank them
enough for what they do.”
“We are very excited to bring the North and South together
with Riggs Racing and Andy Seuss this year,” said Mike Paris of Advance
Auto Parts. “Advance has over 3,000 stores in 40 states, so that
represents us and our Team Members well. The Riggs are some of the best
car owners in the business. They know how to work hard and get the job
done. Andy Seuss has shown the same thing in his career so far. That is
what our customers do as well, so to have everyone come together like
this just seems natural.”
Also joining Advance Auto Parts and Shell on the list of
sponsors for the #47 Modified are Dodge, Don and Dee Stone Motorsports,
Glad Precision, Pilat Graphic Design, Newman Lawnmower, Sunoco Race
Fuels through Hank Thomas Performance, Absolute Machine, Stuart's
Automotive, Summit Signs and Rockingham Boat.
Now Seuss, the Riggs team and all of their sponsors can't
wait for the racing season to get started.
“We are very excited having a young driver in the car,” said
Riggs. “It's going to be a learning curve for us to learn what he likes
in the car and to learn to work together, but we'll just take it race by
race and we'll be all right.”
Source: Mike
Paris / Advance Auto Parts / Riggs Racing PR
Posted:
January 18, 2008 |