NASCAR

Sprint Cup

CUP: Three To Drive For Baldwin

Scott Riggs and Tommy Baldwin have decided to part ways...

Tom Jensen | Posted May 25, 2009 Charlotte, NC

Scott Riggs sits next to his car during a red flag due to rain in the Coca-Cola 600. Riggs and team owner Tommy Baldwin will part ways after Monday's race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. (Photo: Scott Halleran/Getty Images for NASCAR)

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team owner Tommy Baldwin and driver Scott Riggs agreed to part ways following Monday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. (Photo: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Mike Skinner, Patrick Carpentier and Brian Simo will replace Scott Riggs as the driver of the No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Toyota for the remainder of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

Riggs and Baldwin mutually agreed to part following Monday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Skinner will drive 17 of the remaining 25 races on the 2009 schedule. Carpentier will be behind the wheel during both races at Pocono Raceway, the June 28 race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Sept. 12 race at Richmond International Speedway and wrap up with the Sept. 27 race at Dover International Speedway. Brian Simo will navigate the No. 36 machine during the two road course events at Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen International.

Skinner, a 26-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series winner, has 256 NSCS starts in 19 years. The Ontario, Calif., native has earned 10 top-five and 39 top-10 finishes. He also won the 1995 NCWTS championship and currently drives for Randy Moss Motorsports in the Truck Series.

“Tommy and I go back a long ways and I know that he is the type of person that NASCAR needs in the Cup Series,” said Skinner. “Even though my main focus is the truck, if we can help Tommy along until he finds that permanent driver that he needs to put his team to the next level, then it is an honor for me to get a chance to participate and to try and help him out.”

Carpentier, a Canadian native, is best known for his career in the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series. The 37-year-old driver made his NASCAR debut at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Aug. 4, 2007, where he took the pole and finished second. Since then, Carpentier has made 27 NSCS starts with his best finish of 14th coming during the 2008 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

“I am looking forward to having Mike, Patrick and Brian behind the wheel of the No. 36 Toyota,” said Tommy Baldwin. “I think they all will be able to help us evaluate where our program is today and help make improvements to bring it to the next level.”

The No. 36 team has qualified for eight of the first 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this season with a top finish of 25th in the Daytona 500.

“I enjoyed my time working with Tommy,” said Riggs. “I just think it was time for both of us to make a change. We mutually agreed it was time for someone else to jump behind the wheel of the race car. I wish Tommy the best of luck.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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Tom Jensen

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