Scott’s biography

With a name like his, it is only fitting that California native, Scott Speed, is one of the hottest young rookies in Nascar. While he may be new to the stock car racing scene, Scott Speed’s list of accolades stretch clear back to the mid-90’s.

Like so many other drivers, Scott began his career behind the wheel of a kart. By 1995 the 12 year-old had already garnered his first national championship trophy, but Scott was only just beginning his rise to the top of North American kart racing.

From 1996 to 2001, Scott Speed scorched the tarmac and took out several more national titles before making the switch to open wheel racecars. In his rookie season racing in the Jim Russell Racing Championship, Scott emerged the quickest, taking the series title with relative ease. From there, Scott made the transition to the Skip Barber National Championship as well as running selected Formula Mazda Championship races.

By 2003 Scott had caught the eye of the 2003 Red Bull American Formula 1 Driver Search and was selected to compete in the preliminaries. Up against the nation's top drivers, Scott Speed lived up to his name by winning the event and was additionally chosen to contest a handful of ultra-competitive British Formula 3 events.

In 2004 Scott entered the Formula Renault championships in Germany and Europe. He did not disappoint and added wins in both championships to his resume. Later that year, Scott was invited to test with the Red Bull Cheever IRL Racing team and contributed information valuable to the development of the car. In 2005 Scott advanced into the new ultra-competitive GP2 series. He earned the Numbers 1 and 2 for his team in the early pre-season qualification round in Paul Ricard, France. Scott was a regular sight on the podium and also posted the fastest lap time at many of the races, ending the championship in 3rd overall.

Scott was also given his first opportunity to drive the Red Bull Racing Formula One car and, with a strong test in Barcelona, was given the call up to do Friday Testing duties in Montreal and Indianapolis. It would be the first time in a decade that an American would lap a Formula One car in America. Scott seized the opportunity, put in two strong performances, and gave good feedback to the team, learning some of the subtler engineering intricacies of Formula 1 racing.

2006 marked the end of USA's absence from Formula 1, with Scott Speed competing in the STR01-01 car under Scuderia Toro Rosso, (Team Red Bull, in Italian) formerly known as the Minardi team. Scott’s run with STR lasted two seasons and peaked with his ninth place finish in only his third start, on the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Australia.

After departing from the team in 2007, Speed returned to the states, eager for a new challenge. Still in good relations with Red Bull, Scott Speed signed a deal to race in the Nascar development, ARCA Series. His Red Bull branded, Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota adapted quickly to the new style of racing, getting to victory lane in only four starts.

Having now the appetite for American stock car racing, Scott Speed decided to increase his learning curve by driving a limited series in the Nascar Craftsman Truck Series for Bill Davis Racing. The team has already seen the fruits of their labor, as Speed managed to bring home a victory in his sixth race, elevating him from a test driver to a permanent addition to the team.

It was enough to secure Speed a seat for the 2009 Sprint Cup season, where he battled for rookie of the year in the No. 82 Red Bull Toyota. Thirteen starts into his Cup career, Speed scored his first top-five finish in the April race at Talladega. He also ran a partial Nationwide Series schedule in the No. 99 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota, which he drove to six consecutive top-10 finishes and eight overall.

Speed is now in his second full year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and is ready to make a statement in 2010.