In case you missed this weekend’s wild ARCA RE/MAX Series finale at Toledo Speedway, check out this article from Charles Krall at Cup Scene Daily, and this one from Mike Brudenell at the Detroit Free Press. Be sure to watch the video in Charles Krall’s article. To make a long story short, after championship leader Scott Speed had his day ended by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who was chasing him in the points, Speed then proceeded to end Stenhouse’s day by driving through him on the restart headed into turn one. He gave us the old “if you can’t win, wreck the guy who can” show.
From start to finish this year, the ARCA RE/MAX Series championship battle was full of drama. You might remember Journo’s post about it a while back. Speed and Stenhouse swapped the points lead all season, and in the end, neither won the championship. We were definitely entertained along the way, as we saw some bent sheet metal and some bent tempers. But when the dust settled, both Speed and Stenhouse’s cars lay mangled, while underdog Justin Allgaier hoisted the trophy.
Now, with the ARCA season behind him, Speed is poised to make his Cup Series debut this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. He is taking over the #84 Red Bull Toyota from the recently departed A.J. Allmendinger.
Speed, often brash and flamboyant, burst onto the stock car scene this season, winning four races in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, and also the Truck Series race at Dover. After a short, and unsuccessful stint in Formula One, Red Bull executives brought Speed back to the U.S. to try him in a stock car. Now, because of his success and TRB’s lack of patience with Allmendinger’s development, Speed is being fast tracked to NASCAR’s highest series. And they’re doing it with only one season of ARCA and a few Truck Series races under his belt.
Moving from ARCA to Cup is a difficult transition at best (ask Michael McDowell) and brings with it some serious challenges. Fields go from being separated by multiple seconds, to only being separated by a few tenths. The level of competition is astronomically higher, and here, the drivers don’t play nice (see Harvick vs. Edwards). If he continues on his current path, his antics will only get him in trouble with his fellow competitors and those in race control.
Something else for Speed to consider, is that what he did on Sunday might be okay at Toledo Speedway in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, but it won’t fly at Atlanta or Talladega in a Cup race. Letting your temper get the better of you at these tracks is unacceptable and will get guys hurt.
As his first foray into Cup racing approaches, I’m hopeful that Jay Frye and the management for TRB have prepared Speed for what he’s about to experience. He has just become the low man on the totem pole again and must earn the respect of his competitors. And after what has transpired within the last few days, you can be sure both the drivers and NASCAR will keep a watchful eye on his Red Bull Toyota.
Related posts:
- Tactical Toyota and Successful Scott Speed
- The Points Battle in America’s Other Racing Series
- A Weekend of Championship Races
- Where They’ve Been and Where They’re Going: Part 2
- I’ve Got A Theory About The Strange Situation at Red Bull
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on Oct 14th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Scott came to Indy and roamed the garages this year during May (I worked as a crew member at Indy from 1981-1997 and still carry my hard cards and my Indy badge) and I have to say I wasn’t impressed by his attitude. Let’s face it he has done VERY little as far as results(and really nothing by May of this year) and yet seems to think he’s the greatest thing ever. Only ego and attitude I’ve seen bigger came with the name Andretti attached to it! And I’m not so sure Scott isn’t a bigger jerk! lol He might and I do mean MIGHT make it in NASCAR but I think the fans will get tired of his act very quickly unless he changes it a great deal, which I don’t see happening. The real shame here is Dinger deserves the ride alot more than Scott…….
on Oct 15th, 2008 at 3:38 am
I would like to see him try a move like that on someone like Tony Stewart. I think he would have a hard time walking back to the trailer after Tony was done with him. Better yet, try doing something like that to Dale Jr. and then he would have to deal with all of Jr. Nation coming after him. Now that is a scarey thought!!!
on Oct 15th, 2008 at 4:43 am
I agree that he is jumping in too fast. I also agree that he has an ego and attitude too big for most helmets. However, Stenhouse tried to beat the back bumper off of Speed’s car from the green. He shoved him all the way down the backstretch until he dumped him in 3. What Speed did after that is short track justice. Stenhouse did not deserve to win the championship by dumping the points leader. And you know what, he didn’t. When Stenhouse continued to blame it on his “brakes” it further showed how green the kid is. #1: you can’t blantantly dump someone and expect to get away with it. #2: you can’t lie to seasoned fans and expect us to believe it.
Scott Speed might still be a jerk, but he’s a jerk who taught another jerk a needed lesson.
on Oct 15th, 2008 at 5:40 am
I really can’t stand Speed, but don’t let what Ricky Stenhouse did go unnoticed. Stenhouse purposely wrecked speed and is just as guilty. I didnt like speed to start with (and still dont), but now I will add stenhouse to that list of drivers that i think suck.
on Oct 15th, 2008 at 6:25 am
Here goes another round of Rookies coming into Cup with not enough experence. The last couple of years it was open wheeelers, Next year it’s (Hot Shots) from ARCA. When will the CUP owners learn, these kid’s need seat time in the lower series. NASCAR needs to step in and make a rule requiring these kids to drive for 1-2 years in the truck or nationwide series before entering Cup. It is going to become a safety issue due to lack of experence. One of these times something very serious is going to happen to a Cup star due to one of these guys makeing a bonehead move, then what will NASCAR do, why not be pro active rather than reactive.
on Oct 15th, 2008 at 7:57 am
In my opinion there are many tracks that are just too difficult for ARCA drivers to negociate at the speeds they are running. I seldom watch them because it is just a wreck fest until they can finally get enough cars off the track to keep from wrecking every few laps. This is the case with Speed, and altho he could drive an F-1 car to some degree, his ability to drive a cup car is a whole new ball game. Much of the problem with open-wheel drivers is of course the close proximity in which they have to race. Red Bull is in love with him, and as long as they have the money, I guess it’s ok. I hope they have lots of cars built for Scott- they will need them!!!
on Oct 15th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Are we really going to take Scott to task for a so-called punk move by threatening him with bigger punks like Harvick & Edwards? Seriously? Are we really saying that his move in an ARCA race wouldn’t fly in Cup when it’s been something the Cup guys have been doing for years? Seriously? Are we really saying he wouldn’t get away with what he did if he tried it in Cup? Seriously?
Give me a break. Don’t act like Scott is in over his head with “the big boys” in Cup when the Cup guys have been pulling the same move Scott did for years. Frankly, I think with his attitude, he’ll fit right in with those guys.
The only problem he might face is NASCAR deciding he’s not one of their boys so he’ll get in trouble for doing the same things guys like Stewart & Edwards have gotten away with for years.
Maybe he is being tossed into the deep end skill-wise by TRB but he’s got the NASCAR attitude down pat.
on Oct 15th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Carrie: I’m not saying he doesn’t have the attitude down pat, and I think to some degree he might be good for the sport. But nobody has gotten away with driving like Speed did on Sunday, in NASCAR in a long time (see Kurt Busch v. Tony Stewart). NASCAR and the other competitors won’t put up with him using his car as a weapon.
Unfortunately for some fans, NASCAR isn’t the same sport it was 15 or 20 years ago. While the top brass might want drivers to more “expressive,” they won’t allow them to become a danger to themselves and others.
on Oct 15th, 2008 at 9:42 am
I just hope that Jay Frye has ordered enough spare cars and extra fab guys for the 84 team – he’s going to need them to keep Speed on the track!
on Oct 15th, 2008 at 10:42 am
I’ve only seen the video clip in the link and haven’t too watchful of an eye on the ARCA point standings, but I have to say that your on dish Scott Speed is wrong. The only thing Speed will have to learn in Cup is how to use the the chrome horn and not wreck himself. How many times have you heard Cup veterans claim “what goes around, comes around”? Hmmm…Smoke tried a payback move at Kansas, only to miss and spin himself thru the grass. Happens all the time.
As far as F1, Speed actually was somewhat sucessful for Scuderia Torro Rosso. F1 silly season antics, just like Cup, shortened his stay. F1=fighter jet…Stock Cars=bumper cars. Ask Gordon from trading paint.
Shoot, if Stenhouse got into Speed prior to (intentional or not) to take the point lead at that stage…Speed did right. He’ll learn soon enough to perfect the “bump & run”!
It’s all in good fun. Great website, by the way!!!
on Oct 15th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Carrie, I have been around this sport for 35 plus years as a owner, driver and a fan. Speed will need to earn the respect of the entire Cup feild, pulling the bone head move he pulled the other day is going to make it much harder for this to happen. regardless of what you think about Stewart and Harvick, Speed needs to gain the trust of these driver and 40 others. If he dosent he will be running 43 for quite some time to come. I’t's called respect. If he does not gain the respect of the Cup feild, he will become just another open wheeler who disapears.
on Oct 16th, 2008 at 7:03 am
What happened to the days when drivers had to pay their dues before they came to na$car. By the time they got there, they had a good idea what to expect. My favorite driver is Jeff Burton. I’ve followed him since he nineties. He paid his dues. By the time he got a full time cup ride he was in his mid to late twenties. That was the norm. Now I see very young drivers being pushed to the cup side. Most of them find they’re in for a rude awakening(Casey Atwood). Of the newer drivers in cup I like Brian Vickers. He was pushed iinto cup after a brief stint in the Busch series. It took awhile. Joey Logano is in for the same rude awakening. You can only hope it doesn’t ruin his confidence if he fails at first. Damn, he’s only in his late teens. Speed is quite a bit older than Logano, but it’s still a big step. He should have spent at least a year in the Nationwide series. Anyway this is just my opinion. Thanks for listening
on Oct 16th, 2008 at 8:17 am
First off, I dont like Speed. He IS a punk. I am a Dinger fan and have stopped drinking RedBull and banned it on my construction sites. With that said, He was VERY justified in doing what he did. stinkhouse spent 20 laps trying to wreck him, even when Speed slowed and pulled up so he could go by, he wouldnt and kept hitting. It doesnt say much for stinkhouse’s ability that it took him 20 laps or so to wreck him. No brakes my butt. There is no way stinkhouse could have run that good with brake problems. arca got what it deserved for not parking stinkhouse immediately after it happened. Heck they should have blackflagged him WAY before he wrecked Speed.
on Oct 16th, 2008 at 8:56 am
I love it when we talk about the “respect of the other drivers”! Hmmm, Regan Smith showed “respect” for Smoke at Talladega in the tri-oval? Smith had every right to spin him out after Smoke made his 2nd block move. He didn’t dump Smoke, made the clean pass and NASCAR “gave” the win to Smoke. Ask Regan about “respect” now and I’m sure he’ll tell ya it’s everyman for himself.
As far as Speed vs Stenhouse goes, there is not one fan here that would be OK w/ your closest competitor driving you into the fence, taking the pt lead and you just simply say “oh well”. Come on people.
on Oct 16th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Justin Allgaier will outperform Scott Speed in the long run.
on Oct 17th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
You got to be kidding me all the A-holes upset about what Speed did. Nice to see the blind eye to the dirty racing by Stenhouse, do you honestly think he didn’t deserve retaliation. Oh yeah I forgot your not a Speed fan, so your glad he lost the Championship.
Now do you honestly think any Cup driver would drive that dirty like Stenhouse, hell no because they know their better than that and honestly your a retard to think duh Speed going to do that in Cup. Cut the crap use your brains, “You live by the sword, sometimes you die by that sword”. Speed’s done nothing I haven’t seen in Cup before and his only crime was he’s an outsider. Half of you morons before 2009 over with will be wearing No. 84 Red Bull Gear.