Scott Speed’s silver NASCAR Sprint Cup Toyota carries the number 82 in its rookie season. Here are seven facts that you should know about Scott and his car.
In the years 2006 and 2007 Scott competed in 28 Grands Prix for Scuderia Toro Rosso. A difference of opinion between him and team manager Franz Tost abruptly ended Speed’s Formula 1 career after the race on the Nürburgring. Scott Speed was the first American Formula 1 driver since Michael Andretti in 1993.In the 2009 season only two drivers are competing for the Rookie of the Year title. Scott Speed and Joey Logano are fighting it out for this prestigious title. Now, after five races, only two points separates the two drivers. In previous years the title was won by Juan Pablo Montoya, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty.In 2008 Scott Speed drove an entire ARCA season in the Eddie Sharp Toyota and celebrated his first victory in the fourth race. At the end of the season, with a total of four wins, he held fifth place in the championship. Alongside his ARCA commitment, Scott also took part in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series in which he competed in 16 races; in his fourth appearance at the AAA Insurance 200 in Dover he collected his first victory, and in the O’Reilly 200 in Bristol, his first pole position. At his nationwide debut in Las Vegas, Speed took pole position in his #99 Camry with a record lap time of 181.708 mph (292.431 km/h).Martinsville, the shortest circuit on the NASCAR schedule, was the backdrop for Scott Speed’s Sprint Cup debut. On October 19, 2008, Scott ended his first race in 30th place. At the qualifying five races later at the season finals in Homestead, Scott landed a starting spot in the first row behind pole and finished the race in sixteenth place.Scott Speed’s motor sports career began in karting at the age of 10. His career then mainly involved open-wheelers – from Formula Russell and Formula Dodge to Formula 3, Formula Renault and GP2 to Formula 1. It wasn’t until after his moderately successful Formula 1 career that he turned to the American touring car sport and competed in ARCA, NASCAR Camping World Trucks, NASCAR Nationwide and finally NASCAR Sprint Cup races.This quote from the film ‘Days of Thunder’ reflects the derogatory attitude towards California still prevalent in NASCAR circles today. However, in the last few years, with seven NASCAR titles between them, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have proved that a NASCAR champion doesn’t have to come from North Carolina. In the 2009 season, California is the state with the strongest representation, tallying a total of seven drivers, including Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Scott Speed.The starting number 82 is a relatively blank card in NASCAR circles. The number first came up in 1975 and, since then, cars sporting it have driven 12048 laps in 57 races. During this time, #82 has only led in four laps – however a car sporting the number 82 has yet to cross the finish line within the top 10.
Comments
Add a comment