NSCS and NNS...
10/11/2009
GOOD CAR, BAD LUCK IN FONTANA...
+ CALIFORNIA TREADS ON SPEED
At least Scott Speed can say his late-race misfortune paved the way for the first green-white-checkered finish in Nationwide Series history at Auto Club Speedway. Because other than that, little else came out of the Copart 300.
Speed’s six-race streak of consecutive top-10 finishes ended Saturday with a 27th-place showing in his first Nationwide start at the 2-mile, D-shaped oval.
While many of the lead-lap cars stayed out under the eighth caution, Speed pitted the No. 99 Red Bull Toyota for a series of adjustments aimed at tightening the car and restarted 27th with 16 laps to go. He drove back inside the top 15 within a handful of laps and was flirting with another top-10 finish before the tread shimmied its way off the left-rear tire, sending Speed spinning backwards into the turn two wall four laps from the finish.
As Speed nursed his car back to pit road, the field prepared for overtime. The 10th caution flag extended the race distance by two laps. After the crew’s quick fix, Speed restarted 29th and picked two spots to finish 27th — marking the ninth consecutive race that Speed finished on the lead lap.
Speed qualified in the top five (fourth) for the sixth time in 12 tries this season. He’ll team up with Michael Waltrip Racing for one more Nationwide race, the Nov. 21 finale at Homestead.
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+GOOD CAR, BAD LUCK
Earlier this year in February, rookie Scott Speed never got the chance to fully get accustomed to the 2-mile, D-shaped oval under race conditions. He pulled his No. 82 Red Bull Toyota into the garage inside 75 laps to go because of a broken exhaust system.
On Sunday, Speed started and finished 21st. Like his teammate, Speed fought a loose-handling car, and through a series of stops, adjustments and a free pass worked his way to 22nd with 100 laps to go. He again fell a lap down as the car tightened up, but benefited from the accident that brought out the red flag.
As cars spun and smoke swirled ahead, Speed dove to the apron and roared past the wreckage unscathed for his best result since finishing 15th on Aug. 22 at Bristol.
The No. 82 ranks 36th in the car owner standings — 122 points out of the top 35 with six races remaining.
