Scott Speed wins in ARCA & CTS

[Placid]

Looks like he feels right at home.
Putting his F1 stint behind him, Scott Speed wins his 2nd race this season,
his 1st win was the 4th ARCA race of 2008 in a Red Bull Racing Toyota @ Kansas Speedway,
He won the Craftsman Truck Series 8th race at Dover in a Red Bull Racing Toyota (his 6th CTS start of 2008).

http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/truck/05/30/sspeed.wins.truck.race.dover/index.html

Time for a 3rd car.

[ShiftingGears]

Looks like he feels right at home. Putting his F1 stint behind him, Scott Speed
wins his 2nd race this season taking the AAA Insurance 200 at Dover after a
re-start in lap 180.

http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/truck/05/30/sspeed.wins.truck.race.dover/index.html

Time for a 3rd car.

Well done to Scott. I hope he ends up in the premier class.

[e2mtt]

I'm telling you guys... he is the real deal. He was first rate all the way through the F1 feeder series, he out-performed his teammate more often then not at Squadro Torro Rosso formula team and could have been a contender with a better car. Now he is working his way up into Nascar the right way with wins in both Arca & Trucks already this year.

Go Scott Speed!

[e2mtt]

in addition., Scott is crediting a pedicure with helping him win...

http://blogs.courant.com/autoracing/2008/05/scott-speed-paints-a-unique-pi.html

Quite hilarious.

[ShiftingGears]

http://www.autoracing1.com/Images/2008/NASCAR/Dover/Speed2.jpg

LOL

[Simmi]

That's not even the worst of the poses he was pulling! Hope he does well for the remainder of the season he got a raw deal in F1.

[Yankee Racer]

I've been a Scott Speed fan since 2006, and he really got a crap deal in F1. It's great to see him doing so well in stock cars. Humpy Wheeler said on Wind Tunnel last night that we need more colorful drivers, so one can only hope we see Scott in a Cup car someday.

I love how they do it. Scott wants to learn to drive these cars, and he's got all the time in the world to do it. You know how much better the other open wheel guys would be doing if they had taken the Scott Speed path and taken a year or two before going to Cup? Scott does it the old way, and I like that. Anyone else remember how Bobby Labonte won the Busch title in 1991, but didn't get a Cup ride until 1993? You needed to pay your dues back then, and it's nice to see someone humble enough to do it today.

[e2mtt]

Scott Speed update... 4th today in the Michigan ARCA race, then 3rd in the Truck race.

This puts him in 2nd place in the ARCA points, and 21st in the Truck points (where he's run 8 out of 10 races)

[e2mtt]

Another win for Scott Speed in ARCA today.

[Lemmy-Boy]

I'm telling you guys... he is the real deal. He was first rate all the way through the F1 feeder series, he out-performed his teammate more often then not at Squadro Torro Rosso formula team and could have been a contender with a better car. Now he is working his way up into Nascar the right way with wins in both Arca & Trucks already this year.

Go Scott Speed!

Given the Eurocentric nature of F1 Politics, it's a pity Speed didn't get a chance to prove himself with decent equipment. In the end, it's good to see he's moved on with his career with positive results.

[tstran17_88]

I've been impressed with Scott so far.

[Placid]

And hopefully for Red Bull to provide him a 3rd car for at least the last 5 or 6 races of the 2008 season.

[e2mtt]

Scott Speed just won his third ARCA race last night... 2 in a row. He's coming...

[ShiftingGears]

3rd Pole Position.

[El Sween]

Does any one know where I can see the ARCA Pocono race on the net?

[jeffconn]

Does any one know where I can see the ARCA Pocono race on the net?

arcaracing.com has timing and scoring and a radio broadcast on mmost of their races. don't know where or if you can see live video.

BTW, Scott Speed was 2nd in the Pocono race today, and he took over the series points lead.

[jeffconn]

Scott after he won the pole Friday. Glad to see he's having fun. :D

[ms0362]

A good approach to preparing him for bigger series. Some other teams could learn from this.

[RaceFanStan]

It seems RedBull Racing should stay in ARCA where they can run up front ... http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g202/gr8link/orn/00.gif

[bowers]

It seems RedBull Racing should stay in ARCA where they can run up front ... http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g202/gr8link/orn/00.gif

Have you been watching Cup racing lately??? I still think Vickers was going to win the Coke 600 (I actually was there) before his wheel fell off while in the lead (he was pulling away with a loose wheel!). AJ has been consistent too with a lot of top 15 finishes lately (from recolection). That said, you have Scott Speed in the wings who has done WAY better than any driver that's tried to make that switch from open wheel to stock cars. If you ask me he is going to be a top ranked Cup star within 3 years. He has won big races, and he's done it mulitple times with hardly any experience. ARCA you can argue, he has the biggest budget, Red Bull backing, etc. but when you go the Truck Series it's a whole different game... and he takes one home at a very difficult track he had never seen before. AJ should be shaking in his boots because Scott is impressing more than Juan ever did to those in the know. I can't see a 3rd team being created by Red Bull in Cup. Currently (if I was the boss) the rest of this Cup season better be spectacular for AJ or Scott is taking it from him in 2009.

[e2mtt]

Well, Scott just won again in ARCA at Nashville. Nice work, the guy is fantastic on restarts, and seems to have a great handle on car setup. This race he set up for long runs. He made a great passes on a restart, then fell back a bit, then as the fuel burned off he ran away with the lead. He then restarted 1st for a green whit checker, and ran away and won.

[El Sween]

Great job by Scott today. Hopefully he will take the championship this season.

[harvick#1]

It seems RedBull Racing should stay in ARCA where they can run up front ... http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g202/gr8link/orn/00.gif

for a team that just started last year in the Cup series, they've already come a long way, from barely qualifing last year to nearly getting wins with Vickers. This will be a team to be reckoned with in the up-coming years

[oldhippie]

i wont bother listing the drivers who did well in lesser series but failed in cup

[Simmi]

i wont bother listing the drivers who did well in lesser series but failed in cup

Plenty have failed but plenty have succeeded so thats not really an issue at this stage.

Speed won in his 5th ARCA race and then in his 6th Truck race so he seems like a fairly fast learner.

I'd like to see Red Bull try to maybe expand to 3 cars next year. I think it would be a shame to put in Scott at the expense of AJ, who yesterday managed to bring himself up into the top 35 for the first time. The past few races with Jimmy Elledge have seen him even out perform Vickers.

Just as an aside I dont know if anyone was listening to Speed's radio on the ARCA website during the race. He was talking about going wakeboarding at the weekend during the pace laps. And when he was asked if there was any fluid coming out of the car in front, his reply was "nothing except for some urine coming out of the drivers side."

At least he can back up his big personality with results at this stage.

[jeffconn]

Speed finished 8th today in his FIRST dirt race, the (deep breath) Allen Crowe 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. He still remains the points leader.
http://www.arcaracing.com/news.cfm?contentid=7056

Hey, Frank Kimmel finally won one this year. Yay! :D

[jeffconn]

Scott Speed finished 8th in the Labor Day race at Duquoin, but wasn't too happy about racing on dirt.
http://www.arcaracing.com/news.cfm?contentid=7122

[Simmi]

It looks like the door is opening now for Scott to go into Cup full time next year.

He is testing the #82 at Lowe's this week and looks like making a few starts in the last few races this year.
(It's nice to see a few new faces cropping up at the end of the season Logano, Speed, Keselowski, maybe Clauson etc.)

AJ looks to have driven his last race in the #84 and has gone from Red Bull as of now. I dont know about anyone else but I feel like he has been a bit hard done by after showing real promise in the second half of the year. They could at least let him see out the year as he has been outperforming Vickers of late.
I dont feel like Skinner will do a better job of keeping the car in the top 35.

Just a side note: Does anyone know if there was a reason why Speed was off the pace in the CTS at Vegas last weekend? He just seemed slow all weekend which is out of character.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Speed maybe just has a few more things to learn. That said, give the lad the tools and he drives like hell. It sucks AJ is losing his ride but if you are going to lose to a guy on the way up, at least Speed has won. He will likely win or almost win ARCA and he is for the most part fast as all get out in the trucks for the most part. I wouldn't bet against him but a year in Nationwide would have been the best thing for him...

[e2mtt]

If he goes to Cup full time next year, he will probably struggle a little. His original plan was to run Truck full time next year, and Cup part-time. As far as Nationwide goes, I've heard some people say that the Trucks handle more like the Cup CoT then the Nationwide cars do. Carl Edwards went straight from Trucks to Cup, and it seemed to work out pretty well for him.

He has a good shot at winning ARCA this year, and breaking Frank Kimmel's 8 year streak! He leads by 90 points with 4 races left.

Eitherway, I'm rooting for him.

[nigelred5]

it's a shame Redbull is cutting AJ loose. They should reverse the roles and let AJ climb into the ARCA and truck rides and let him gain some better track experience. I'd honestly prefer to see Redbull throw AJ some sponsorship to run a full IRL season, though it doesn't look as though they have any real interest in the IRL. Cheever didn't do it for them before, and it appears the Champcar deal really soured them.

[Mark in Oshawa]

This notion that the Trucks are the most like the COT is somewhat true, although when Edwards made the jump the older "twisted Sister" was still the cup car, and much more similar to the Nationwide series as it is now.

AJ is getting screwed but he made enough money in the last 2 years to ensure he isn't on the street corner selling pencils. What is more, he proved this summer he is worthy of another shot and I am betting he ends up with another Cup ride, likely at Ganassi.

[Rip5]

Nobody mentioned our local 7/16 mile track. Scott one in July at Berlin Raceway. I was there, and he drove a heck of a race. From 6th place through the field to first. It was a fun night. This little track is fun for the drivers.

[Simmi]

So not a good weekend all in all for Scott. Qualifying rained out a possible Cup debut and then he got involved in a bit of a petty on-track altercation in the ARCA finale.

Didn't see the race live but saw Speed take out Stenhouse Jr, in retaliation for an earlier move. It took both of them out of the equation. It seemed like a bit of a "well if I'm not going to win the title neither are you" move.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ANaTaNYz20

I dont think Speed would be pulling a stunt like this if he didnt have a Cup drive nailed on for '09. But it kind of makes running the whole ARCA season down to the wire seem a bit pointless. I feel a bit sorry for his ESR team, but hopefully he can use this as a learning experience. It could be a feud to watch in coming years if both drivers progress through the ranks accordingly.

[tstran17_88]

Scott Speed finished 8th in the Labor Day race at Duquoin, but wasn't too happy about racing on dirt.
http://www.arcaracing.com/news.cfm?contentid=7122
He sure has got the 'farmer tan' down pat! :laugh:

[jeffconn]

From 1st in the points to 5th in one race. Ouch!

[e2mtt]

Quoting from an article about Scott Speed's first Cup start, coming up this weekend:


He’s going to find out quickly that competing at the Cup level can’t be treated quite as cavalierly. And he’s going to discover that NASCAR Nation doesn’t take kindly to drivers who paint their toenails and strike poses from The Thinker.

It might just be that he doesn’t give a flip what NASCAR Nation or the United Nations or any other nation thinks. But in case he does, there are two ways to win over NASCAR fans.

He could drive so well and win so many races that fans grudgingly pay him respect. Or he could wreck Kyle Busch.

Link: http://insiderracingnews.com/Writers/DD/101608.html

[RaceFanStan]

Speed's move in the final ARCA race of 2008 won't be tolerated in NASCAR.
Speed will have a very brief NASCAR career if he drives that way in PC friendly NASCAR.
NASCAR just won't tolerate poor sportsmanship !

I wasn't impressed with Speed throwing away his chance of capturing the 2008 ARCA Championship. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/tongue-anim.gif