Gladeville, Tenn. ? Scott Riggs led only once for the final 47 laps Saturday as he got his first NASCAR Busch series victory in just his seventh start on the circuit at the Pepsi 300, tying a record for the quickest victory by a rookie.

Johnny Rumley also won in his seventh start, in 1993.

Riggs became the first rookie to win on the Busch circuit this season as crew chief Harold Holly gambled in the final pit stop, taking only two tires and gas.

“What a great pit stop,” Riggs said. “They shot us out of there about fourth. The guys in front of us didn’t have the tires. I knew I just had to take my time and get by them.”

He took the lead on lap 179 and started stretching out his lead in his Ford in winning with an average speed of 111.038 mph.

“I was just praying we didn’t have a caution there at the end,” he said. “Those guys who did have four tires that last stop would really be coming.”

Jack Sprague took four tires in his final stop and finished second for a second consecutive week. He was followed by Bobby Hamilton Jr. who came from a lap down for his best-ever Busch finish, Scott Wimmer and Jason Keller as Fords filled three of the top five positions.

Sprague admitted he thought the race was 250 laps on the 1.33-mile, D-shaped oval. He found out he was wrong with 55 laps remaining out of 225.

Sprague, the winningest driver ever on the Craftsman Truck Series, did take over the points lead. But he said he’s not thinking about the points race after spending the past seven years worrying about his standings while winning three season titles.

“This is a whole new experience, but these guys learn pretty quick. We’re not far off,” he said.

Riggs won on this track last August, taking the Craftsman Truck race as one of his four victories in that series. He credited his crew, which won the 2000 Busch title with Jeff Green, for helping him win so quickly after starting the race third.

“I knew it was going to be coming with these guys,” Riggs said. “If I didn’t, they’d get rid of me. They’re used to winning five or six races a year. They were hungry to get back to Victory Lane just like I was to prove myself.”