Double Duty Again in Texas...

11/2/2008

Two Steppin' at Texas

+ TWO-STEPPING AT TEXAS

He battled with Johnny Benson and Todd Bodine, sliced and diced with Mike Skinner, had it out with Ron Hornaday. They’re all grizzled veterans that have shown Scott Speed a thing or two this season — Friday night included.

Speed finished 10th at Texas Motor Speedway, just another lesson learned in the Craftsman Truck Series that can only help his Sprint Cup career with Red Bull Racing Team.

“The most important thing is experience,” said Speed, who ended up 26th in June’s Texas truck race after a late spin down the frontstretch.

“More laps driving anything, especially against this caliber of competition, all helps. I’m learning so much running with these really good drivers at the front. It’s just an amazing amount of information that I’m taking in.”

Speed started 18th and drove into the top 10 in 15 laps, running as high as fifth at halfway. Fighting a tight condition in traffic, Speed’s last pit stop for four tires and fuel came on lap 96. He restarted 14th and charged to 10th, as the No. 22 Red Bull Toyota was the fastest truck for 10 of the final 20 laps.

It was Speed’s eighth top-10 finish in 14 races (to go along with a victory and four top fives), and only once has he finished outside the top 15 in his past seven starts.

Speed will run the final two Craftsman Truck Series races with Bill Davis Racing at Phoenix and Miami.

+ SPEED STAYS THE SAME

Teammate Scott Speed continued his approach of “finishing the race, running laps and not making any enemies” in start No. 3 of a five-race stretch to get acclimated to Sprint Cup racing. He’s completed 99 percent of the laps, keeping the No. 84 in the top 35 in car owner points with two races remaining.

Coming off a 10th-place finish in Friday night’s Craftsman Truck race, Speed started 33rd and finished 33rd in a race where he fought a loose condition all day and nearly lost the handle a few times in turns three and four.

Speed will partake in a Craftsman Truck-Sprint Cup double for the fourth straight week at Phoenix.

Scott Speed, driver, No. 84: “Our car was so loose the whole race that I thought I was going to se it so many times. We just had no grip. No matter how many adjustments we made we just couldn’t get the car to tighten up. I had a good car for only five laps of the race. It was so frustrating to run around all day and be so far off.”