Chicagoland: Scott Speed race report

Speed Rallies from Lap Down to Finish Third in Chicagoland ARCA 200

Joliet, Ill. (September 6, 2008) -- Scott Speed found himself trapped a lap down in Saturday's Chicagoland ARCA 200 due to an ill-timed late-race caution. Immediately following their green-flag pit stop the No. 2 Red Bull team was scored one lap behind the leader when the caution came only two laps later. With a stellar restart in typical Scott Speed fashion, the No. 2 was able to jump past the leader and return to the tail end of the lead lap cars when the caution came again. In a mad green-white-checkered dash, Speed charged from sixth to a third-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway.

"It was just a really tough race," said Speed. "The car was ok for the first five laps of the run and then would just become very aerodynamically unstable. We did the best we could today. I just hate that we gave more points to the 99. We need to focus and bring our best to the track for these final four races."

Speed led 51 laps of the 136-lap race. The finish marks the team's 12th consecutive top-10 finish. Speed has a total of 15 top-10 and ten top-5 finishes in the first 17 events of the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Season. The ARCA RE/MAX Series Championship Point gap between Speed and second-place Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. narrowed to 50 points following the Chicagoland ARCA 200. Four races remain in the 2008 season.

Next Stop: Scott Speed and the No. 2 Red Bull team head to Salem, Indiana for the Eddie Gilstrap Motors 200 by Advance Auto Parts. SIM Factory Pole Qualifying takes place on Saturday, September 13th at 3:00 p.m. Driver introductions follow at 6:45 p.m. and the green flag for the 200-lap event drops at 7:15 p.m. All times listed are EASTERN.

-credit: esr