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  • Cole Whitt Is Just Being Cole Whitt

    Cole Whitt Is Just Being Cole Whitt

    On the heels of the induction of the second class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, young up and coming driver Cole Whitt is just taking it all in and learning from the masters of the sport.

    [media-credit name=”Photo credit: redbullusa.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]But most of all, the soon to be twenty year old rookie who is now leading the point standings in the Camping World Truck Series is forging his own path. And yes, he is just being Cole Whitt.

    “Anyone that is going to be inducted in the Hall of Fame is going to be someone that I look up to for sure,” Whitt said. “I look up to all of them.”

    “But at the end of the day, you have to have your own style and your own way of doing things,” Whitt continued. “I’m really just pushing my own road and doing things the way I need to do them for myself.”

    “Cole Whitt is going to be who Cole Whitt is.”

    Right now Cole Whitt is currently the youngest points leader ever in the Truck Series. After his second consecutive top-three finish, the driver of the No. 60 Red Bull/ Fuel Doctor race truck leads veteran Johnny Sauter by a mere point.

    “It’s pretty amazing to think we did it, especially where the team has come from the beginning of the year,” Whitt said. “We really didn’t have that great of a Daytona outing but the team really turned things around.”

    “To come this far into the season and already grab the points lead, it’s been pretty cool,” Whitt said. “The team has really come together and things are clicking really well. It’s awesome to see this team come as far as we have.”

    While Cole Whitt preaches just being who he is, the young driver also credits his success solely with his race team. For him, the team is his main motivating source.

    “I think it’s just a matter of having a lot of good people,” Whitt said. “We’re not a big team, which makes it tough. But at the same time it’s easy to keep everyone on the same page.”

    “I try to keep the guys really motivated,” Whitt continued. “I’m at the shop every day and I try to put in as many hours as they do and work hard with them.”

    “I think the main thing is trying to keep everyone having fun,” Whitt said. “At the same time, we care about it a lot. When we don’t run good, we’re upset. But at the same time, we push each other to be better.”

    Whitt realizes that his team, with owner Stacy Compton, is one of those small team ‘Davids’ fighting some of the ‘Goliaths’ of the sport.

    “Stacy’s team has never been one of the biggest teams or one of the teams that is looked to as the one to beat but we’re trying to be that team,” Whitt said. “When everyone shows up at the track, we want them to say ‘We want to beat that team.’

    Whitt knows that it is just a matter of time until he and his team win a race this season. He currently is the only Truck Series driver to complete all 1,134 laps for the season, with five top-10s, finishing no lower than 14th to date.

    “So far, we haven’t really been the team to win races but we’ve been so consistent, driving up front,” Whitt said. “I think that win is just really going to come as long as we keep running as good as we have.”

    Whitt’s success in the Truck Series has also caught the eyes of others in the sport. He recently was offered the chance to run for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing in their No. 99 Nationwide car at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend.

    “It came together pretty quick,” Whitt said. “Jay Frye (Red Bull Racing) had been talking to me before about doing some Nationwide stuff and I just wasn’t really sure where it was going to go from there. He called me up and asked if I wanted to do this one weekend deal.”

    “I’m really excited to run for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing and give that 99 car a good run,” Whitt continued. “I’m excited more than anything to go back to a track that I’ve already been on and made laps on where it’s a little more familiar.”

    Whitt is also excited to celebrate the Memorial Day holiday at the race track as well as at home, a real treat for any professional stock car driver.

    “More than anything, I’m looking forward to getting into that Nationwide car,” Whitt said. “That’s kind of like my celebration I guess you could say.”

    “I’m going to hang out around the house more than anything,” Whitt continued. “The best part about Charlotte is sleeping in your own bed.”

    While Whitt could not be more excited to take on the new Nationwide ride, he is realistic about his expectations. And that is just another way that the young driver is being true to himself.

    “I wouldn’t say I expect anything,” Whitt said. “At the beginning of the season, if you had asked me, I would have never thought we’d be leading the points.”

    “Would I have really thought it would be possible? Probably not,” Whitt continued. “But that’s cool. We pushed forward and we have a team that’s better than we expected to be.”

    “There’s so much to grasp and I’ve just been absorbing everything that’s been thrown at me,” Whitt said. “I’m so thankful for the chance to learn.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Dover FedEx 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Dover FedEx 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks

    Under threatening skies at the beginning of the race and with one caution for precipitation, the sun emerged and then beat down upon the Monster Mile at Dover, Delaware for the remainder of the race.

    Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks.

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    Surprising: It was surprising to see the comers and goers at Dover and in the end, to see who gambled and who did not. And in a town where the casino resides right next to the track, the gambling paid off, especially for those that either stayed out without tires or who took two instead of four.

    Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, was probably the biggest gambler, staying out on the last pit stop with no new tires to finish in the runner up position. This was his first top five of the season.

    “Lance McGrew and the GoDaddy.com team deserve this,” Martin said. “We just about pulled one off there. We finally had a good finish.

    Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Wiley X Sunglasses Ford, also gambled with a two tire stop, and finished his day in Victory Lane.

    “Obviously it was a great day for us and pretty exciting for us to win that way here at Dover,” Kenseth said. “I was happy we were able to pull it off.”

    The gambling also paid off in the point standings, with Kenseth jumping four spots to the sixth position and Martin moving up three spots to the 11th position.

    Not Surprising:  With so many drivers taking either no or just two tires, it was not surprising that the dominant cars throughout most of the race, including the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson and the No. 99 Aflac Ford of Carl Edwards, finished a bit further back in the pack in ninth and seventh respectively, after deciding on a four-tire strategy.

    This was  the second week in a row that Edwards and company took four tires and did not win. Both Edwards and Johnson, however, maintained their top standing in the points, first and second respectively.

    Surprising:  It was surprising just how different the Monster Mile treated teammates throughout the race. One of the best examples was the split between Richard Petty Motorsports teammates A.J. Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose.

    After starting from the outside pole, the ‘Dinger not only had high hopes for a great finish but he even fulfilled his wish of leading a lap. But instead of potentially contending for a race win, the engine on his Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Best Buy Ford gave up the ghost.

    “I don’t know, it was weird because it all happened at once and there was no sign of it,” Allmendinger said. “We were going to run them (the leaders) down and all of a sudden off (turn) two, it went.”

    “Honestly, it sucks,” Allmendinger continued. “I really wanted this for us and Ford and Best Buy and everybody, the King especially. I hate this.”

    On the flip side, his RPM teammate Marcos Ambrose, in the No. 9 Dewalt Ford, had a stellar day, finishing in the third spot.

    “I get a good feel on these concrete tracks,” Ambrose said. “On concrete, I think it’s the steep banking that helps me feel the tires.”

    “It was a great day and a really good call for two tires there at the end.”

    Not Surprising: The tale of two teammates continued with the results chasm between Brian Vickers, piloting the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, and his teammate Kasey Kahne in the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota.

    Vickers, who at the time of last year’s Dover race was in the hospital “with two IVs stuck in both arms”, finished fifth, while Kahne blew an engine and was out of the race.

    “This was a great team effort,” Vickers said. “I feel great. It was a special race.”

    Kahne, on the other hand, started fourth and was running in the top ten for much of the race, only to experience engine issues.

    “We had a great Red Bull Toyota,” Kahne said.”The car was really fast early on. I think I over-revved it so it may be my fault that it let go.”

    Surprising:  Both cars in the Stewart-Haas Racing stable, including the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet of Ryan Newman and the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet piloted by Tony Stewart, were surprisingly bad at the Monster Mile.  In fact, Stewart deemed his car evil, finishing 29th, multiple laps down. Newman battled all day as well, taking the checkered flag in the 21st position.

    Stewart summed up the SHR day overall on one of his radio communications during the race, saying “I’ve got no (expletive) confidence in our team right now.”

    Not Surprising: Kyle Busch in the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota surprised no one in driving from the rear of the field due to an engine change to a fourth place finish.

    “Considering how far behind we started with the engine failure and how I ran it into the fence, it was a really good result,” Busch said.

    Surprising:  After a hard crash in the Nationwide run that ruined a potentially winning day, Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, had high hopes for redemption, starting in the fifth spot. Logano, however, brought out the first caution, spinning and hitting the wall. Logano’s car was not right for the rest of the race, again hitting the wall in the waning laps of the race to finish 27th.

    Not Surprising: Living up to the track’s nickname, there were some monstrous moments on pit road during the race in Dover. David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford, had an adventure getting to his pit, spinning, hitting the guard rail and then almost blocking the entrance trying to get his car pointed in the right direction.

    “I just locked up the rear brakes a little coming into the pits during the green flag stop,” Ragan said. “That’s the first time I’ve ever wrecked like that getting to pit road.”

    “I guess I pushed it a little too hard today.”

    Rookie Andy Lally, in the No. 71 Interstate Moving Services Ford, also had a pit misadventure, with a major slide down pit road late in the race. Lally finished in the 33rd position.

     

  • Cole Whitt: ‘We’re Trying Really Hard’

    Cole Whitt: ‘We’re Trying Really Hard’

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”250″][/media-credit]Red Bull development driver Cole Whitt has been tearing up the tracks in his No. 60 truck for his rookie season in the NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series. He has had one pole, led 30 laps and currently leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year competition.

    To date, Whitt has three consecutive top-10 finishes, with an average start of 11.2 and an average finish of 8.5.  The young driver is currently tied for third in the point standings, just seven points behind leader Johnny Sauter.

    To what does Whitt credit his success so far this season in the Truck Series?

    “Everyone has just been working hard is the main thing,” Whitt said. “We’re not the biggest team and we’re not the most expensive team in the world but we get good results with what we got.”

    “That’s what’s kind of cool is everyone knows what we’re working with,” Whitt continued.  “We’re trying really hard.  Everyone puts so many hours in. It’s pretty cool to have guys that care about it that much.”

    Whitt likes to lead by example, going to the race shop every day.

    “I’m there from 7:00 AM in the morning to 4:00 PM in the afternoon,” Whitt said. “I like to go in and show them that I care and give back to them what they give to me.”

    Whitt also credits his team’s chemistry with the success that they have all enjoyed in the early goings of the 2011 season.

    “I’m a firm believer in chemistry and that your team has to be all gelled together,” Whitt said. “I try really hard at making the team work together. Everyone needs to communicate and everyone needs to get along. That’s how our team operates.”

    “We’re having fun racing and we’re loving it,” Whitt continued. “It’s been enjoyable.”

    One of the races that Whitt was not looking forward to, however, was the one now in his rear view mirror, the Kroger 250 at Martinsville. In spite of his apprehension about that race, Whitt qualified second and brought his truck to the checkered flag in sixth.

    “I wasn’t looking forward to Martinsville”, Whitt said candidly. “I feel like I run pretty good everywhere, but Martinsville is not the kind of track I look forward to.”

    “But to qualify as well as we did and race all day like we did and be fast all day was really exciting,” Whitt said. “We passed the most trucks, I think 53, by the end of the day so it was a long day but our truck was good.”

    With that good finish, Whitt is now ready to tackle the next race, the Bully Hill Vineyards 200. As is the case with many rookies, this will be Whitt’s first time ever at the Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee.

    “I’ve never seen the place so I don’t know how it’s going to be,” Whitt said. “I’m usually good at places I’ve never seen though like Darlington, which was one of the best races of the year and I’d never seen that track a day in my life.”

    “We’ll spend time making sure our truck is the way we want it to be,” Whitt continued. “Other than that we’ll get our feet wet in the first practice session, learn the track the best we can and put the hammer down.”

    Whitt has only one wish as he heads into the Nashville race weekend.

    “I want to go win the race,” Whitt said. “That’s the way we approach every race. We go to run good and we’ll take what we can get, but we go to every race to win.”

    With that confidence comes a great deal of pride in his accomplishments to date. Whitt also revels in the increased attention that he and his team have garnered thanks to their performance.

    “I’m proud of everything and the way that it’s all gone down,” Whitt said. “I feel like our team deserves it.”

    “It’s kind of funny because we’re not a team that’s expected to run really good,” Whitt said. “But hopefully by the end of the year, we can change everyone’s minds and make it where everyone thinks of us as a winning team.”

    “I think a lot of people are now thinking that we’ve run well this far, but how long will they last?” Whitt said. “We’re looking to doing it all year.”

    Whitt will get that chance to run the full season and is especially excited about a new sponsorship deal that has just been announced. Fuel Doctor will be an associate sponsor for the next eight races starting with the Nashville race.

    “We’re pretty excited about that,” Whitt said of his new sponsorship deal.

    “Hopefully when we roll through the gates, everyone will worry that we’re there. That’s what we are working towards.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Auto Club 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Auto Club 400

    From the moment Sugar Ray Leonard dropped the green flag for the pole and outside pole sitters, Juan Pablo Montoya in his fiery red No. 42 Target Chevrolet and Denny Hamlin in his No. 11 FedEx Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, expectations were high at the fourteen degree banked, wide open track in Fontana, California.

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Victor Decolongon/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”273″][/media-credit]Here is what was surprising and not surprising in the purposely shorter Auto Club 400, down in length by 20% and 100 miles from last year:

    Surprising:  After an absolutely dominant performance by Kyle Busch, who led the most laps at 151 and ascended to 29th on the all-time laps led leader list surpassing Fireball Roberts, and a late race charge by Fontana favorite Jimmie Johnson, one driver led less than a lap and took the checkered flag.

    Bakersfield, California native Kevin Harvick finally got that coveted first win at his home state track, Auto Club Speedway. Reminiscent of his racing idol the late, great Dale Earnhardt, Harvick sported his own brand of intimidation, bumping Jimmie Johnson just enough to rattle him so Harvick could slip by for the win on the last lap.

    “Well we had them all beat last year and I gave it away,” Harvick said in a Budweiser-soaked Victory Lane. “What a great day.”

    “All these guys did a great job on pit road,” Harvick continued. “Gil (Martin) made the right call. We held those guys off and our car just kept going.”

    “Today we had a fast car and the circumstances played in our favor.”

    This was Harvick’s 15th victory, putting him in a tie with Ernie Irvan for 48th on NASCAR’s all-time Cup Series win list. This was team owner Richard Childress’ 95th Cup Series win, but the team’s first ever win at Auto Club Speedway as well.

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising to see five-time champ Jimmie Johnson, piloting the very familiar No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, finish in the runner up position. This was Johnson’s 10th top-two finish in 17 races at Auto Club Speedway.

    “It reminded me of last year in the spring race,” Johnson said. “We just couldn’t hold him off.”

    “I knew he was coming,” Johnson said of Harvick. “If I could have got by the 18 a lot sooner, it might have been enough, but I was way loose and driving my butt off.”

    “Just glad it turned out to be a decent day.”

    Surprising: In spite of losing the race after being so dominant, it was surprising to see this ‘new’ Kyle Busch take it all in stride. Busch stood calmly by his No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, waiting to share his thoughts on his third place finish and his first top ten finish in the past four races at Auto Club Speedway.

    “We gave the race away today unfortunately,” Busch said. “We seemed to be losing the handle on that last set of tires and couldn’t get the right speed I needed.”

    “I can’t say enough about the guys on pit road and the guys back at the shop,” Busch continued. “They got us in position but unfortunately I couldn’t get the job done today.”

    “I just didn’t have what it took there at the end.”

    Not Surprising: After having a chance at the race win and falling back, it was not surprising to see Tony Stewart pitch his gloves off after the race and stalk out of his car to his hauler, waving off any media who dared approach him. Stewart, who had run in the top five most of the day, making daring pit calls with his crew chief to stay out when others pitted for tires, faded back to finish 13th.

    With that finish, Stewart ended a four race streak of top-10 finishes at Auto Club Speedway. The driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for the team that bears his name also fell three spots in the point standings to the sixth spot.

    Surprising: Unfortunately, the engine woes that have been plaguing Joe Gibbs Racing continued this weekend. Young Joey Logano had to start at the back of the pack due to an engine change, clawing his way back up to a 25th place finish.

    Even more devastating was the engine failure of Denny Hamlin, who had been the outside pole sitter and who looked to be a contender early in the race. After nursing his wounded car along and then going a lap down, Hamlin finally gave it up and headed to the garage.

    “We’ve got to go to work and figure out how to get the reliability back,” Hamlin said. “Our engine department has got to go to work.”

    “It was a slow death for our car today.”

    Not Surprising:  Sadly the curse of the first lap leader continued at Auto Club Speedway. In 21 races at the track, the first lap leader has never gone on to win the race.

    This was the case for Juan Pablo Montoya, who started off in the pole position and led that first deadly lap. Montoya had his struggles but did manage to rally back for a top ten finish, keeping him solidly in eighth position in the point standings.

    Surprising:  Both Red Bull teams had amazingly good runs in Fontana this weekend. Brian Vickers, in the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, finished eighth while teammate Kasey Kahne, in his No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, followed right behind in the ninth position.

    “Well, we wanted to win,” Vickers said. “But this is just what the Red Bull 83 team needed.”

    Not Surprising: Carl Edwards, who has been so dominant this season, finished sixth. With his good run, Edwards was able to assume his place on top of the points leader board, now officially the first repeat points leader in five races this season.

  • Amanda Speed Is Keeping It All In Perspective

    Amanda Speed Is Keeping It All In Perspective

    [media-credit name=”ScottSpeed.com” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]In spite of the trauma of husband Scott losing his Cup ride with Red Bull Racing last season, Amanda Speed is keeping the couple’s spirits up, preparing to have their child, and coping with her mother-in-law’s cancer.

    And even with those major highs and lows in their lives, Amanda Speed is working hard to keep it all in perspective.

    “Well the day he got the fax from Red Bull was the same day we found out his mother had cancer,” Speed said. “So that put things into perspective real quick.”

    “Scott and I have always been the type that love to enjoy life no matter what we are doing,” Speed continued. “So spending time with our family and friends is what is helping this process.”

    Speed may have perspective but she is still understandably shaken by the seemingly abrupt firing of her husband in November 2010. The fact that the news was delivered to them via the fax machine was especially distressing.

    “I was sick to my stomach honestly,” Speed said. “Especially with the way it was handled, I mean, a fax… Come on seriously.”

    “You renew his contract halfway through the year, fit him for his 2011 firesuit in October and then a week after the last race of the year, you fire him through a fax,” Speed continued. “Just unbelievable.”

    In response to being released from Red Bull Racing, the couple decided they needed to take action. Scott Speed filed a $6.5 million lawsuit against the race team, alleging breach of contract.

    Amanda Speed admits that the filing of a lawsuit has not been easy for her husband or for her. She also noted that the experience has changed how they relate to people, particularly in the racing world.

    “It is difficult that’s for sure, and I will be glad when it is over,” Speed said of the lawsuit. “But Scott would have never filed the suit if he was not 100% sure of it.”

    “You can only take so much of being run over,” Speed continued. “In the long run I think it has made us both stronger, but also both very conscious of the people that we are around.”

    “We have always been people who trust everyone until they break that trust,” Speed said. “However, now it is the opposite. You will now have to gain our trust. It is just really hard.”

    Although the experience of the firing, the breaking of trust, and the lawsuit have been most difficult, the Speeds have some good news recently.

    Scott Speed reached an agreement with Kevin Harvick, Inc. to run two Nationwide Series races, one at Iowa Speedway on August 6th and the other on the road course in Montreal on August 20th.

    Amanda Speed is thankful for the new ride coming Scott’s way, especially since it will return the couple to the race track.

    “It is so hard not being at the track each weekend,” Speed said. ” Before I met Scott I was working at the track, and I grew up at the drag races, so to not be at a racetrack at all is wearing on us both.”

    “I hate watching the races on television,” Speed continued. “It is very hard.”

    “The thing I miss most about being at the track is just the racing,” Speed said. “I live for that competiveness, heck we both do.”

    The couple did take in the Daytona 500 this year and also plan to get to a few more races this season before Scott Speed gets behind the wheel of the KHI Nationwide car.

    “We both went to Daytona,” Speed said. “It was very different, very emotional being at a racetrack and not racing, but we talked with a lot of people, so it was good to be there.”

    The Speeds also recently announced their most special news, that they were expecting a baby together, due in September. The newest Speed will join big brother Rex, Amanda Speed’s child from a previous relationship.

    “The pregnancy was actually a BIG surprise,” Speed said. “I mean, we had been trying, but we thought it wasn’t possible, so it was definitely a surprise.”

    “We don’t know yet what we are having, but we will find out soon,” Speed continued. “Rex is very excited. He wants a girl and Scott wants a boy.”

    “I just want it to be healthy, so it is going to be very entertaining when he/she gets here.”

    Speed has also been very busy during this time with her marketing efforts, taking every opportunity to keep her husband’s name and his brand present in the racing marketplace.  She and Scott have also been active in the social media world, keeping up with fans via Facebook and Twitter.

    “I do as much as I can on contacting media reps and people from different areas of racing,” Speed said. “I try to do what I can to keep him out there.”

    “We have also got a guy redesigning his website, and other people that are out seeking sponsorship,” Speed continued. “We are all working very hard.”

    “The fan support has been overwhelmingly good,” Speed said. “Scott is so grateful for that.”

    “He has a great following on Twitter, and he is very glad to see his fans stick by him through this crazy period in his life,” Speed continued. “For all the haters, he will be glad to get back out on the track and say, “I told you so.”

    In spite of it all, Amanda Speed acknowledged that there have been many life lessons in this whole process, some positive and some more difficult.

    “I think there is always a life lesson in any step you go through in life,” Speed said. “The darkest moment through all of this was finding out Scott’s mom had cancer,” Speed said. “One minute she is as healthy as a horse, and the next minute, she is getting chemo and radiation.”

    “It was just very devastating to us all,” Speed said. “It’s like, how did this happen so quickly?”

    “Obviously finding out that I am expecting is very exciting and rewarding,” Speed said. “But I would have to say that the most triumphant moment has not come yet, but it will soon and we both can’t wait for that moment.”

  • Scott Speed Files 6.5 Million Lawsuit Against Red Bull Racing

    Scott Speed Files 6.5 Million Lawsuit Against Red Bull Racing

    After being told he wouldn’t be driving for them at the end of November, Scott Speed is filing a $6.5 million lawsuit against Red Bull Racing for breaking terms in the contract.

    After finishing 30th in points, Speed said he was notified by fax on November 24th that he wouldn’t be returning to the team in 2011.

    “I’m obviously stupid disappointed that I didn’t even get a phone call, not a conversation, not anything from anyone from Austria,” Speed told Bob Pockrass Wednesday in a phone interview. “They all showed up at Miami. None of them spoke a word to me. I got a fax.”

    He also added that he did have a contract for 2011, yet wouldn’t discuss the terms.

    “I can’t describe how upset I am just over the morality of it,” Speed said. “I don’t understand how you can treat people like this. Whatever. I know that’s not how I treat people.”

    SceneDaily in their report said, “According to the lawsuit, Speed signed a three-year deal in September 2007 for a salary of $300,000 in 2008, $500,000 in 2009 and $1 million in 2010. He would receive 50 percent of prize money for each top-10 finish, 45 percent for finishes 11th-20th and 40 percent of prize money for finishes of 21st or worse.

    “In June 2008, the deal was amended to include 2011 at a salary of $1.5 million and options for 2012-2013 at raises of $500,000 annually. In January 2010, the deal was revised to cut Speed’s pay from $1 million to $500,000 for 2010, according to the complaint.”

    Speed adds in the lawsuit that Red Bull picked up Speed’s option through 2013 in May 2010, but then broke that promise via firing him on November 23rd. The $6.5 million represents the salary that Speed would have received from 2011-2013.

    The 2010 season was meant to be Speed’s breakout year and it started out that way, yet went down hill once teammate Brian Vickers got sick.

    “When Brian got sick, we were both in the 20s in points just because of luck – honestly, we ran better than that,” Speed said. “We were going to put this driver in [for Vickers], and their old team was trying this [setup], so [we decided], ‘Let’s try this.’ … As a team, we kind of [crapped] the bed, really. There’s no question throughout the year we performed terribly.

    “At the end of the day, I was a scapegoat for that, I guess.”

    In August, when it was announced that Kasey Kahne would be joining the team in 2010, a lot of people had counted Speed out of Red Bull Racing with Vickers set to return come the following year. Speed said there were options laid on the table for him, however.

    “They made it pretty clear with four or five races left that their plan was pretty simple – that if Brian doesn’t get better, then I’m their guy, but if Brian does get better, the options are open for maybe a third car, maybe Nationwide or something – that was the last I heard, was basically I’m waiting there to see if Brian is all right,” Speed said.

    In the process of everything, Speed said he understood the decision, but doesn’t like how it was done.

    “They had the opportunity to get Kasey Kahne, which is a no-brainer,” he said. “I would do the same thing. Then it’s ‘OK, do you want Scott Speed or Brian Vickers next year after that?’ Even though I think I’m probably performing at a similar level to Brian, I’d still take Brian over myself even because of his experience level.

    “It makes sense what they’re doing. I just think they did it all wrong. They didn’t treat me fairly over the whole deal.”

    He also adds, “They thought it was OK to kick me to the curb and not try to do absolutely anything for me. They didn’t want to pay me anything. They didn’t want to help me get into any other kind of ride. Nothing. They were, ‘OK, we’re done with you. Thank you for seven-and-a-half years.’

    “Honestly, I’m still a little bit shocked over the whole situation.”

    Also with Kahne coming over, it was announced that some employees were being laid off as Kenny Francis, crew chief for Kahne, was bringing over his own bunce of guys. Speed said that his guys shoudn’t be blamed for the bad performance as that should be on the guys at the top of the chain.

    “Changes that change the performance of the car are made at the top level,” Speed said. “When John Probst took over [general manager] Jay Frye’s sort of role running the team from a competition side, things changed and stuff got a lot better. … Then shortly after that, with everyone sort of fighting for their job, sort of a little bit working against each other, things got worse again.

    “But the cars, during the middle part of the year, were terrible. They were terrible not because of the guys physically working on the cars. That’s not fair to say at all. That’s never the case. There’s three or four guys at the top that are deciding what bodies are going on what cars, what cars are going to run and that’s where the speed is at.”

    He claims in the lawsuit that the real reason the team did not run well was due to the lack of funding in place.

    This past month has not gone as well for Speed as a whole as he found out the same day that he was released that his mom had cancer.

    “My mom was diagnosed with cancer on the same day [I was released], so it kind of puts life into a little bit more perspective than, ‘Oh my God, I just lost a racing ride,’” Speed said. “It’s terrible, but priorities change a little bit. In any case, it’s not just a case of finding a new ride or a new sponsor.

    “I’ve never had a manager my whole career, for example. Red Bull has always told me where to go and what to do. There’s never been a need for a manager, especially somebody trying to find money and a ride. The decision I make for myself and where I go after Red Bull is a huge one. What brand do I associate myself after a seven-and-a-half year relationship with Red Bull? I have a global brand name with my career in Formula One and with what Red Bull has done with my stock-car racing career.”

    Red Bull Racing was approached by SceneDaily for a comment, yet said they did not have anything to say.

    Speed is not the first driver to be suing someone this offseason as Robby Gordon is suing Extenze after he feels he was wronged by them in terms of putting Kevin Conway in his car.

  • Kasey Kahne: New Number, New Teammate, New Knees for the New Year

    Kasey Kahne: New Number, New Teammate, New Knees for the New Year

    There is no doubt that Kasey Kahne is ready to put this past season behind him, from the turmoil at Richard Petty Motorsports to his abrupt departure and early arrival to his new team, Red Bull Racing. Kahne will herald his New Year with plenty of newness, including a new number on his race car, a new teammate with Brian Vickers’ return, and some new knees to boot.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]Kahne’s most recent news is about the new number on his Red Bull race car in the 2011 season. Kahne and Red Bull Racing have been granted approval by NASCAR to use the No. 4, Kahne’s favorite number, which he often uses on his sprint car.

    Red Bull Racing requested the number for Kahne from Morgan-McClure Motorsports, who is currently not using the number on their race cars.

    “We worked with NASCAR and, out of respect of Morgan-McClure, we also talked to them so they are aware,” Jay Frye, Red Bull Racing General Manager, said. “It’s for one year only, and NASCAR could give the number back to Morgan-McClure in 2012.”

    Kahne will use the number for his interim year with Red Bull prior to his move to Hendrick Motorsports in 2012. Red Bull will then revert back to using their familiar No. 82, formerly driven by Scott Speed, who was recently released from the team.

    In addition to his new number, Kahne is also looking forward to his new teammate Brian Vickers. Vickers has rejoined his Red Bull team after recovering from his battle with blood clots.

    “I’ve talked to Brian recently and he is back, so that’s good,” Kahne said. “I’ve always respected Brian on the track. He does a nice job and I think we can work well together. As far as teammates, I think we can do things together and help the company.”

    Kasey Kahne will also ring in the New Year with a set of new knees. The 30 year old one-upped Denny Hamlin by having surgery on both knees at one time. Kahne, who had surgery right before Thanksgiving, is already walking, albeit slowly, without his crutches.

    “I’m just taking it easy,” Kahne said. “I’m just trying to get ready for next season and be prepared when we start at Daytona.”

    There is no doubt that Kasey Kahne is absolutely ready to put the tumultuous 2010 season in his rear view mirror.

    “It was just really up and down,” Kahne said about his past year. “The higher ups at RPM caused a lot of confusion and there was a lot of bad luck and things happening throughout the year. It ended up being a pretty unsuccessful season.”

    “But I was glad I got to go with Red Bull the last five races and just try to look at doing something new and something fresh,” Kahne continued. “I got to get a little bit of a head start for 2011 and I think we accomplished that.”

    Kahne admitted that his transition this season has been a bit challenging, having to adjust to “a whole different car, engine, and how everything runs.” But he acknowledged that the worst was behind him and is especially looking forward to having Kenny Francis, his long-time crew chief, back atop his pit box.

    “Now that Kenny Francis has come over and about five or six other guys that I’ve worked with in the past, I think it’s going to be really good,” Kahne said. “I think we are going to be able to run strong each and every weekend.”

    “I’m really looking forward to this season,” Kahne said, predicting all good things for his New Year. “Red Bull has some really nice race cars, good parts and pieces, and good people. We’ll just put it all together and it should be pretty awesome.”