Team Red Bull may be spending a well-deserved weekend away from the racetrack, but that doesn’t mean fans can’t follow Scott Speed’s progress.
Speed happily Tweets frequently and candidly all about his life and career, including where he’s headed during his time off from NASCAR’s Sprint Cup.
Apparently he’s spending the weekend in Florida for this weekend’s National Hot Rod Association’s (NRHA) Gatornationals event. “There’s a bunch of us and I’m actually taking my motor home,” Speed explained, although not through Twitter, before leaving. “Amanda’s brother, Matt Smith, and his wife Angie are racing motorcycles down there so we’re going to go and check that out.”
An often irreverent and light-hearted guy, the Californian enjoys interacting with fans and trying to win over those who aren’t fans. It’s all in fun: “I don’t expect any advantage to come from my Twittering but it’s certainly a very entertaining way to communicate with my fans. I love it. I really enjoy my Twitter.”
And because he’s just having a good time, his tweets aren’t always rated general admission. Sometimes he gets carried away, goofs around even airing a bit of dirty marital laundry through the social networking site.
'It’s only a matter of time until I get into trouble for it' – Scott Speed
For example, he recently announced that Amanda’s listing in his mobile phone would be changed from “Lovely’ to something a bit less flattering. So far he’s stayed within the lines, but sooner or later he knows he’ll cross one.
“It’s only a matter of time until I get into trouble for it, but Red Bull knows that and I kinda got a disclaimer with them,” he says. “They realise that they are the ones that gave me the page and gave me control over it, so something is going to happen where I say something I shouldn’t. But so far we’ve been in the clear.”
Brian Vickers is also tweeting, although he seems less likely to get into trouble. Fans can also find out fun facts about Vickers and his movements – he’s skiing in Aspen, Colorado, with friends this weekend.
But he also talking NASCAR and the duel between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski. The on-track aggression ended late in the race in Atlanta when Edwards spun Keselowski who found himself doing a backflip into the wall.
Vickers’ tweet said: “How about this stuff with 99 [Edwards] & 12 ... someone asked me what I thought, I said I bet the 12 will think twice about wrecking anyone again!”
When the teams get back to business next week at Tennessee’s Bristol Motor Speedway, one thing that’s bound to be tweeted about is the return of the spoiler. Twenty-four teams wiill try out the spoiler in Charlotte on Tuesday, which is likely to replace the wing on the Car of Tomorrow at the .526-mile Martinsville oval on March 26.
But Vickers, who tested the spoiler last month is not convinced: “We tested it at Texas Motor Speedway and I don’t think it mattered much at all,” he said. “I think the difference is going to be little to none.”
Speed, on the other hand, is a convert: “Maybe we’re one of the teams that figures it out right away — I mean that’s going to be a huge part of this season and who is going to make it in the Chase or not.”
Vickers fans also get a shot at some cool memorabilia care. South Carolina's Darlington Raceway is giving away a fire suit worn by the driver in the Nationwide Series as a promotion for its upcoming NASCAR race weekend in early May. Vickers, who won the 2003 Nationwide championship, tasted victory at the 1.366-mile speedway during that title winning year.
To enter the draw for the fire suit by visiting the Darlington Raceway website. For more, visit NASCAR.com, go to the home of Red Bull Racing Team.
Getty Images
Comments
Add a comment