Scott Speed to make Cup debut, replace Allmendinger
09/26/08 Red Bull Racing general manager Jay Frye stopped short Friday of declaring Scott Speed the driver of the team’s No. 84 Toyota next season, but called Speed, “a very key and important part of our program going forward."
Frye’s assessment of Speed’s role with the group comes three days after it was announced the team will part ways with driver AJ Allmendinger at the end of 2009, and perhaps even earlier.
Allmendinger’s move would allow Speed – who is part of the team’s driver development program in the ARCA/ReMax Series and a part-time driver of the Red Bull-sponsored Bill Davis Racing entry in the Craftsman Truck Series – to possibly take over Red Bull Racing’s open seat in the Sprint Cup Series next season.
“What we’ve always said we were going to do with him was we were going to take it slow and as he progressed, we would graduate him when he was ready," Frye said. “Every time we’ve graduated him, he’s far exceeded any expectations. The other night at the [Cup] test at [Lowe's Motor Speedway], he was phenomenal. We had high expectations for the test and he exceeded them again."
Frye was particularly impressed by how Speed handled himself during the test and interacted with Red Bull’s other drivers.
“He was good all weekend," he said, noting that he expects crew chief Jimmy Elledge to work with the new driver of No. 84 car next season. “In two days, every time he went out he got better. He has a pretty methodical approach, how he goes about his business, and he’s just a professional. All three teams … worked together really well. It was a really, really good test."
09/23/08 This rumor is upgraded to 'strong' today. Scott Speed knows that there is an opening for a Sprint Cup driver at Red Bull Racing, but the former Formula One driver said Tuesday that he still doesn’t know if he will be tapped to replace AJ Allmendinger in the No. 84 car.
Speed was testing the No. 82 car at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in preparation for making a Cup start later this year. If a team tests a car, it typically needs to race it during the season.
Red Bull announced Tuesday that Allmendinger will not return next season.
“Who knows?" Speed said prior to the test session Tuesday afternoon on whether he would be full time in the Cup series next year. "So far, every decision Red Bull has made for me, every car I’ve ever driven has been what Red Bull says. … I was very successful in Europe doing it.
“I made it all the way to Formula One, so I have trust in their decisions and what they decide for me are going to be the right ones."
Currently leading the ARCA standings in his first full season of stock-car racing, Speed is expected to see his first Cup start at Charlotte in a few weeks. He has ARCA commitments this weekend and then will compete in the ARCA Talladega race the following weekend.
The team plans to use Allmendinger in the No. 84 at Kansas Speedway this weekend but has not announced its plans for that car beyond that race.
“Preparing to race Cup has always been the plan since I first got here – everything we’ve done has been towards that," Speed said. “Honestly, I could have came back from Europe and jumped into a Cup car and raced and not looked stupid, but the more learning and the more experience before I make that step into Cup, the better I will be. We’re trying to do as much as possible before that time comes." Scenedaily.com
08/23/08 Between now and the end of the 2008 season, Scott Speed likely will make his Sprint Cup debut. Red Bull Racing will probably employ its test team – which includes veteran Cup crew chief Richard “Slugger" Labbe — for a third car for Speed, said team Vice President and General Manager Jay Frye said Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Red Bull is still deciding whether or not to run two or three full-time cars next season, or two full- and one part-time cars, and whether it will retain AJ Allmendinger in its #84 Toyota. Speed, who has a chance to win the ARCA RE/MAX Series title this year, has been exceptionally impressive transitioning to stock cars, while Allmendinger has shown huge improvement since the start of the season. Frye said he hopes to have 2008 plans finalized in October. SPEEDtv
08/04/08 ARCA and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Scott Speed tested a Sprint Cup car for Red Bull Racing last Monday and Tuesday, and said he expects to make his series debut later this season.
“Certainly we want to keep the ball rolling," Speed said at Pocono Raceway. “It wouldn’t surprise me if I was in a Cup car by the end of the year racing.
“I think at this point, there may be certain people who are pushing very hard to do a full Cup season next year. I think it looks [like] I will do a full truck season and do a lot of Cup racing. The whole thing is adapting very well. I didn’t expect the test to go as well as it did. It went really well. There will be more Cup tests, there will be Cup racing. From that we decide what we want to do."
Speed, a former Formula 1 competitor who drives for Bill Davis Racing in the truck series, insists that he is in no hurry to make the jump to Cup.
“I’d rather race trucks anyway," he said. “It’s shorter racing, it’s fun with cool guys, [more] laid-back. … Saying that, I haven’t raced Cup yet. We take it one step at a time. We’re in no hurry; I know there’s a car waiting for me. I know I’ll have a proper chance to see if I will be successful. And I honestly think I will be successful in it. It’s just a matter of time." Scenedaily.com