Race Weekend Central

Beyond the Cockpit: Scott Speed Speeding Towards Uncertainty

For the past two seasons, Scott Speed has been a participant in our Driver Diary series, providing readers with insight into what was going on in his life both on and off the track. Unfortunately, 2011 will be quite a bit different for the open-wheel convert as he starts the season without a ride. We don’t believe that Scott will be on the sidelines for long, however, and our own Tony Lumbis checked in with the California native to talk about his unceremonious departure from Red Bull Racing and what lies ahead.

Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch: As the 2010 drew to a close, you consistently answered questions about your future in the same manner: “They haven’t told me anything yet.” It seemed a little strange given the fact that your future was being determined for you by rumors on every site. In the end, it turns out, you were being as open as you could be. Can you elaborate on what turned out to be a very odd ending to your tenure at Red Bull Racing?

Scott Speed: We all had a clue that they might do something, I just had no idea what the details were since they made their decisions without having any conversation with me other than “good luck.” Brian’s situation was unknown, I guess until the last race. So, I knew there was a possibility that I didn’t have a ride but still thought they would come up with something. Instead they held me under contract all year, which did not allow me to talk to anyone else.

Lumbis: It has been reported that there was a clause in your contract that stated if you were not in the top 16 in points by your second season (2010), the team could release themselves from their obligation to you. Is that a legitimate out on their side in your opinion, and how did you feel initially when you signed that contract?

Speed: I can’t talk about the contract until it goes into the lawsuit, which it will in probably the next couple of weeks. I will say that if it was as simple as that, I wouldn’t be spending thousands and thousands of dollars on lawyers to fight this thing.

Lumbis: The reports are saying that the lawsuit is over lost salary. Can you confirm that?

Speed: Yes, it is over the three years of salary related to the option I signed last May.

Lumbis: So in May, all indications were that you were going to be back with the team and by November, that had all changed?

Speed: Yes, exactly. Basically, I signed my contract in May and I guess they had the privilege to wait until whenever they wanted to, to let me go.

Lumbis: Now that your tenure at RBR has come to the conclusion, even though it wasn’t the end that you wanted, looking back at your two years with the Red Bull Sprint Cup team, how would you rate your experience there?

Speed: It was good and I certainly enjoyed it. I feel satisfied that we were able to run well when the stuff was right, especially in the beginning of 2010 before they went to the spoiler. I felt really satisfied about how competitive we were and my progress in the Cup Series and NASCAR in general.

Lumbis: There was a discrepancy in performance between ARCA, where you dominated the field on a consistent basis, and versus when you got to Cup when you endured some struggles. Obviously some of that is expected with two different levels of drivers and cars. With that in mind, do you wish you had another year or two in the Nationwide or Truck series?

Speed: Not even in hindsight, as at the time it would have been ideal for us to wait a little bit longer before moving me up. But with the situation at the end of ‘08 with AJ [Allmendinger] and the team parting ways, it just worked out that it was time to put me in the car. Everybody knew it was probably a little bit early, but in hindsight, I don’t think it affected much. I think I would have been at the same point that I was at last year either way.

Lumbis: How does not having a ride impact your offseason?

Speed: It’s certainly a lot different. I never had a manager or a marketing team or any of that stuff. That was all handled through Red Bull. We’re just now in the process of nailing down who we want to represent us and how we want to structure myself for sponsors and teams. So it’s definitely been a good process.

Lumbis: You mentioned that you have always had someone to represent you through the team. It is important for people to remember that you weren’t just with Red Bull for the past two years. You have been with them for the past several years in different racing series and have not had to worry about representation for most of your professional driving career.

Speed: Yes, I think I’m one of the longest motorsports athletes they’ve ever been involved with.

Lumbis: Does that make the split even worse, knowing that you were with them for all those years but were only given two years to prove yourself in NASCAR?

Speed: Honestly, I’m quite bitter over the situation. When I talked to the bosses in Austria, they thought it was OK for them to contract me all year long and have the right to do with me what they wanted at the end of the year and walk away scot free. The contract apparently didn’t matter.

Lumbis: What are your considerations for 2011? Obviously a full-time competitive Sprint Cup ride would be ideal, but what other options would you be willing to pursue?

Speed: I have a lot of options on the board, but obviously my first priority is not to put myself in a position where I am just racing to race. If I get in a racecar, I want to win. I’ve spoken to a lot of friends and other drivers with whom I’ve gotten close to over the years for advice and I feel that the best situation is to wait it out until the right situation arises.

Lumbis: A lot of drivers have the theory to take a start-and-park ride just to keep their name and presence in the garage area so that they are not forgotten about. But you’re not buying into that theory?

Speed: Yep. We’ve got to do things to keep my name out there too, but I think we can get creative and find a way to get me into a competitive racecar.

Lumbis: Would you consider going back to open-wheel racing?

Speed: Not yet, I don’t think. If the right situation came up, sure. But for 2011, there is no right situation. Ultimately though, I really want to spend the next couple years racing stock cars.

About the author

Tony Lumbis has headed the Marketing Department for Frontstretch since 2008. Responsible for managing our advertising portfolio, he deals with our clients directly, closing deals while helping promote the site’s continued growth both inside and outside the racing community through social media and traditional outlets. Tony is based outside Philadelphia.

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