NASCAR Sprint Cup Series...

05/01/2010

RICHMOND, NOT SO GOOD TO SPEED...

+ RECAPPING THE RED BULL TOYOTAS AT RICHMOND

START/FINISH: 12/35

NO-GO FROM THE GET-GO: The 50th start of Speed’s Sprint Cup career did not go as planned. He started 12th and immediately fought handling problems around Richmond’s .75-mile, D-shaped oval. He got the free pass 50 laps in, and the immediate changes in the pits were “unbelievable.” But a furious pace by the leaders quickly put the No. 82 a lap down. By the time the checkered flag waved, Speed was seven laps in arrears in 35th.

“We will be fine. We will have races like that, but it makes it even sweeter when we bounce back from it.” — Speed

VITAL SIGNS: Dropped four spots to 25th in the driver standings. He’s 37 points behind 20th place.

STAT THAT MATTERS: With Richmond behind him, Speed heads to Darlington, where he finished 13th in his first-ever NASCAR race at the tricky, egg-shaped oval in the sand hills of South Carolina. That, however, was a Nationwide Series race. A day later, he finished 26th in a Cup car.