SURVIVING SALEM

Scott Speed left Salem Speedway with his points lead firmly intact. His No. 2 Red Bull Toyota left bent and crumpled, caught in the usual carnage provided by ARCA's answer to Bristol.

Salem took its toll Saturday night on ARCA RE/MAX Series drivers and equipment. Speed included, but he finished eighth in the Eddie Gilstrap Motors 200 - even after finding himself in a multi-car wreck on lap 139 and an earlier run-in with his closest championship rival.

But Speed kept his damaged car chugging and stayed on the lead lap to post his series-leading16th top 10. He gained 50 points in the championship battle and leads by 90 over Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished17th, with three races remaining.

All totaled, eight cautions consumed nearly a quarter of the race.

"Salem is always a tough race and it is important to be out front," Speed said. "We were able to run fine until the pit stop debacle. After we went to the middle of the pack with Stenhouse we found ourselves in the middle of two wrecks, but luckily we were still able to gain ground in the Championship points battle."

ARCA's next event comes Sept. 28 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Sounds like just another race, but the venue's Thunderbolt Raceway is a 2.3-mile, 14-turn road course and suits Speed's skill set just fine.