Illinois: Scott Speed race report

Speed Steers to 8th Place Finish on Clay in Springfield

Springfield, Ill. (August 17, 2008) -- Eddie Sharp Racing's Scott Speed has had a year of many "firsts" and this weekend the former F-1 driver made his first career start on a dirt track. Heading to the Illinois State Fairgrounds with three wins in the last four races, the No. 2 Red Bull team prepared for a hot and dirty day in Springfield. Speed endured a frustrating race on the unfamiliar surface and finished in a very respectable eighth-place.

"It was definitely an experience," said Speed. "Hopefully we can take what we learned here and apply it in two weeks at Du Quoin [State Fairgrounds] and hang on to the points lead."

Speed slipped and slid through the dust of the one-mile clay track in Sunday's Allen Crowe Memorial 100. Starting in the eighth position, Speed battled a tight-handling Red Bull Toyota for much of the 102-lap event and brought home his tenth consecutive top-10 finish of the season.

Speed continues to lead the ARCA RE/MAX Series point standings by 110 points over second-place Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. who surpassed Matt Carter for the position this weekend. The ARCA RE/MAX Series will race on the dirt one more time before returning to speedway action at Chicagoland Speedway.

Next Stop: Scott Speed will return to action in the Craftsman Truck Series on Wednesday August 20th at Bristol Motor Speedway. The ARCA RE/MAX Series will have a weekend off before hitting the dirt at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds on Labor Day.

-credit: esr