NASCAR Sprint Cup Series...

07/04/2009

LATE RACE FIREWORKS IN DAYTONA

+ LATE-RACE FIREWORKS

Scott Speed, coming off an afternoon stint in a Grand Am Daytona Prototype, ran as high as 15th in Saturday’s race, showing promise of another strong restrictor-plate run. Earlier this season, Speed earned a career-best finish of fifth at Talladega Superspeedway.

“We were competitive the entire race, and I could really do whatever I wanted with the car,” Speed said. “The race ran like textbook for us. This is exactly how I’d like us to run in all of our races, just with a better final result.”

Speed’s hopes of a top-15 finish were dashed when his Red Bull Toyota was caught up in a late-race accident with just eight laps to go. He finished 31st.

“We had put ourselves in a position to bring home a top-15 run, and that would have been a good finish to a really good race for us,” Speed said. “Unfortunately, we were running three wide and the No. 26 couldn’t hold the bottom. He put us into the No. 44 and that ended our night. It was just an unlucky break for us.”

Speed’s No. 82 Red Bull Toyota stayed 36th in the Sprint Cup car owner standings — 172 points from the top 35