In Defense of Scott Speed

In Defense of Scott Speed

By Brian H Cotnoir

Scott Speed is one of my favorite drivers in in racing history.  He has had one of the most interesting careers in history and although some of his racing endeavors did not yield the best results, he still has proven his abilities on the track.

Scott Speed's path to NASCAR was very unconventional.   Speed raced for a one and a half seasons in Formula 1 for the Red Bull Jr. team Scuderia Toro Rosso.  As of the posting of this article, Speed is the last American driver to have had a full-time ride in Formula One.  Speed typically finished mid-pack in most F1 races, but unfortunately, he never scored any points.  However, at the time peed competed in F1, only the Top 8 finishers received points.   Speed had financial backing throughout this Formula One and Junior Formula career from Red Bull, and after he lost his seat in F1, he made the transition to stockcars.

In 2008, Scott Speed made his stockcar debut the ARCA Mendards Series running full-time for Eddie Sharp Racing.  Speed won 4 races and nearly won the Championship before being taken out in the final race by future NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  Speed got his revenge on Stenhouse, wrecking him too, but unfortunately this cost him the Championship.  That same year Speed ran part-time in the NASCAR Truck Series for Bill Davis Racing, where he'd score his first (and only) win at Dover International Speedway.  He'd finish in the Top 5 a total of four times that season in the Truck Series.

Unsurprisingly, Speed's success in ARCA and the NASCAR Truck Series was enough to land him a ride in the Red Bull Cup Series team.  Speed competed full-time for the Red Bull NASCAR Team in 2009-2010.  Speed's results were pretty lackluster, and his team actually had to buy a ride from NEMCO Motorsports so speed could race at Darlington and Sonoma that in 2009.  In 2009, Speed also ran part-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Michael Waltrip Racing where he frequently ran in the Top 10.  Scott Speed's best finish in the Cup Series was a 5th place at Talladega, and he would be dropped by the team after the 2010 season.  Just like fellow Red Bull driver, Cole Whitt, once the Red Bull sponsorship ended Speed struggled to find a top-quality ride in NASCAR.   Speed often drove for Start & Park teams like Whitney Motorsports, The Motorsports Group, and Leavine Family Racing.  Speed only managed One Top 10 Finish (again at Talladega) between 2011-2013.

In 2013, Speed made the jump to Rally Cross, where he won his first race ever.   Speed would go on to win four consecutive Championships in Global Rally Cross from 2015-2018.  He even made a handful of starts in the newly formed Formula E, where he finished on the podium in his debut at the Miami e-Prix.

Scott Speed is without a doubt a talented race car driver.  He's one of a handful of drivers who have raced in Formula 1 and NASCAR.  Other drivers who have run in both F1 and NASCAR include Mario Andretti, Lella Lombardi, Jacques Villeneuve, Nelson Piquet Jr., Jim Clark, and Juan Pablo Montoya.   His early success in the ARCA Series showed that he was quick to adapt to oval and stock car racing, and I think had Red Bull not rushed him to the Cup Series so fast and let him run at least one full season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series to properly develop, he probably would have won a race in the Nationwide Series.    Red Bull shutting down their Cup Series team at the end of the 2011 season stunted not only Speed's career, but Cole Whitt (who I already defended in an article earlier this year).  I'm glad Speed found some sucess in Rally Cross, after his stock car career fizzled out.   But the record books will still show that Scott Speed is a NASCAR winner, and I'm grateful for that.

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