ScottSpeed

Early Career Foundations

Scott Andrew Speed, born January 24, 1983, in Manteca, California, embarked on his racing journey at the age of ten, immersing himself in karting from 1993 to 2001. During this formative period, Speed demonstrated significant promise, clinching the SKUSA Super Pro Title for JM Racing in 2000, securing two IKF Grand Nationals, and earning three IKF regional titles. His karting success continued into 2002 with a victory at the Rock Island GP in 125cc Shifter Karts. Transitioning to formula racing in 2001, Speed quickly became champion of the US Formula Russell series. The following year, 2002, saw him compete in both the Formula Dodge National Championship, where he finished third, and Star Mazda, where he placed eighth. His talent was recognized by the Red Bull Driver Search program, which led to a drive with Alan Docking Racing in the British Formula Three Championship in 2003. However, this year was interrupted by a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis, necessitating his return to the United States for treatment. Upon his return in 2004, Speed's determination shone through as he secured two significant championship titles despite his worsening health condition: the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup and subsequently the Formula Renault 2000 Germany. These performances propelled him into the inaugural GP2 Series season in 2005 with iSport International. Initially the number two driver, Speed was soon promoted to the lead role, delivering five podium finishes and twelve top-five results across 24 races. He concluded the season an impressive third in the drivers' championship, behind future Formula 1 stars Nico Rosberg and Heikki Kovalainen. Towards the end of 2005, Speed also participated in the first three races of the A1 Grand Prix series for A1 Team USA, achieving a best result of fourth in the Portugal feature race.

Formula One Debut and Formative Years

Scott Speed's trajectory towards Formula One began in 2005 when he served as a test driver for Red Bull Racing at the Canadian and United States Grands Prix. This marked a significant milestone, as he became the first American driver to participate in a Formula One event since Michael Andretti in 1993. Following Red Bull's acquisition of Minardi, the creation of Scuderia Toro Rosso was announced, with Speed and Vitantonio Liuzzi confirmed as its drivers for the 2006 season. Speed made his Formula One debut at the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix, finishing thirteenth. The subsequent Malaysian Grand Prix saw him retire due to a clutch failure. At the Australian Grand Prix, Speed initially appeared to have secured his and Toro Rosso's first championship point, but a 25-second penalty for overtaking under yellow flags demoted him to ninth. He also incurred a $5000 fine for inappropriate language during a stewards' hearing. The season continued with varied results, including a fifteenth place in San Marino, eleventh in the European Grand Prix, and a retirement in Spain due to engine failure. His first Monaco Grand Prix yielded a thirteenth-place finish, followed by an early retirement at the British Grand Prix due to accident damage after a collision with Ralf Schumacher. A strong run at the Canadian Grand Prix saw him finish tenth. The United States Grand Prix presented a challenging scenario, as Speed qualified a career-best thirteenth but was caught in a multi-car collision on the opening lap involving Juan Pablo Montoya, Kimi Räikkönen, Jenson Button, and Nick Heidfeld. Despite the incident, none of the drivers were injured. His teammate Liuzzi secured the team's first point in this race. Speed continued to push, finishing tenth at the French Grand Prix while battling back pains and breathing problems from a prior practice accident. He concluded the German Grand Prix in twelfth place after a qualifying crash, and eleventh at the Hungarian Grand Prix in challenging wet conditions. Further races saw him finish thirteenth in Turkey and Italy, and fourteenth in China. A power steering failure in Japan led to a classified seventeenth place, and he rounded out the season with an eleventh-place finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Despite the lack of points, Scuderia Toro Rosso confirmed Speed's retention for the 2007 season, once again partnering with Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Challenging 2007 Season and Post-F1 Career

Speed's 2007 Formula One season proved largely disappointing, characterized by persistent reliability issues and several on-track incidents. He experienced two separate collisions with Alexander Wurz at Silverstone and Canada, both resulting in retirements. His final race for the team, the European Grand Prix, saw him spin off in wet conditions. Following this event, reports emerged of a physical altercation with team principal Franz Tost, though Tost later denied the claims. Speed publicly criticized the team, alleging their desire to replace both him and Liuzzi. Despite continued testing, the speculation surrounding his tenure persisted, culminating in the announcement before the Hungarian Grand Prix that he would be replaced by BMW third driver Sebastian Vettel. Speed's best result of the season was a ninth-place finish at Monaco, narrowly missing a championship point and finishing ahead of both Honda drivers. On July 31, 2007, Speed was officially released from his Scuderia Toro Rosso contract. He later stated that he would not work with the Toro Rosso team bosses again, though his relationship with the broader Red Bull organization remained positive, securing him a Red Bull-backed drive in the U.S. for 2008. Following his Formula One departure, Speed transitioned to stock car racing, initially competing in the ARCA Re/MAX Series in 2007 and a full season in 2008 with Eddie Sharp Racing. Driving a Red Bull-sponsored Toyota, he finished fifth in the 2008 points standings and, along with car owner Sharp, earned the Hoosier Tire Superspeedway Challenge title. His ARCA career included ten top-five finishes, eighteen top-tens, and four wins in 2008 at Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Berlin Raceway, and Nashville Superspeedway. The 2008 ARCA season concluded controversially when a collision with championship rival Ricky Stenhouse Jr. effectively ended Speed's title hopes, leading to a retaliatory incident that saw Speed parked for the day. Speed's NASCAR career began in 2008 with his Craftsman Truck Series debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He quickly achieved a top-ten finish at Martinsville and secured his first Truck Series win at Dover. He also made his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Martinsville, finishing thirtieth. In 2009, driving the No. 82 for Team Red Bull, he was eligible for the Budweiser Shootout and earned Rookie of the Race honors at the Daytona 500. He also set a track record and took pole in his Nationwide Series debut at the Sam's Town 300, though a collision ended his race early. The 2010 season saw Speed qualify for the Daytona 500 and lead laps, but an incident with teammate Casey Mears and subsequent release from Red Bull Racing led to a contract dispute. His best Cup Series finish with Red Bull was fifth at Talladega in 2009. After periods with Whitney Motorsports in 2011 and a limited schedule with Leavine Family Racing in 2012, he secured Leavine's first top-ten finish at Talladega in 2013 before being released later that year. Beyond stock cars, Speed also made an attempt to qualify for the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with Dragon Racing but was replaced. He notably declined a $5 million promotion to race in the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championships, citing safety concerns about IndyCars on oval tracks following the fatal crash of Dan Wheldon. Speed found significant success in rallycross. He won a gold medal at the 2013 X Games in Foz do Iguaçu in his first rallycross event, followed by a second gold at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Joining Andretti Autosport in 2014, he finished third in points with three wins. He went on to dominate the Global RallyCross Championship, winning titles in 2015, 2016, and 2017, accumulating ten wins. In 2018, he secured the Americas Rallycross Championship (ARX) with Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross, claiming two victories. He joined Subaru Rally Team USA for the 2019 ARX season but suffered a fractured vertebrae in a crash at the Nitro World Games, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season while leading the points. He returned in 2021 for the Nitro Rallycross Championship, finishing as runner-up with one win and four podiums in five races. Additionally, Speed competed in Formula E. For the fifth race of the 2014–15 season in Miami, he joined Andretti Autosport, replacing Marco Andretti. He qualified eleventh and charged through the field to finish an impressive second behind race winner Nicolas Prost.