RECIPE FOR DISASTER

Concord, NC. October 14, 2008: A season-ending short track race, an overly aggressive rival and a ticked off points leader created a recipe for disaster in Sunday's ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Toledo Speedway.

Red Bull's Scott Speed entered the race with a 90-point lead over Ricky Stenhouse Jr., whose unnecessary pressure pushed Speed's car into the wall on lap 27 while the two were running 2-3. Limping around in a wrecked race car, Speed sent Stenhouse's No. 99 crashing seven laps later. The No. 2 Red Bull Toyota came to rest at the bottom of turn one surrounded by smoke, flames and giant barricading blocks. Speed's day - and season - was done.

"From my perspective, the guy chasing me in the championship ran me off the track, and I was in the position to win the championship," Speed said. "Therefore, I'm not going to let him win the championship when he acts like that."

The 25-year-old Speed finished 34th and dropped to fifth in the championship, but the big picture proves it was a successful season for the first-year stock car driver. His ARCA stat line reads like this: four wins, three poles, 10 top fives and 17 top 10s in 21 races. He got valuable seat time on short tracks, intermediate ovals and superspeedways, which has led him to take over the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville.

"I'm not the type of person to get upset about the things I can't control," Speed said. "I can't control a guy in second place running me off the track. I still feel I made the right decision by doing what I did."

Speed will run the balance of the Sprint Cup season with Red Bull Racing Team and Craftsman Truck schedule with Bill Davis Racing.

+ FREE QUOTE Scott Speed: "If I hadn't gone out and done what I did to the 99 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.), then I may as well wear a sign that says, 'Hey, everyone. You can mess around with Scott Speed.' It's like me racing in Cup this weekend in Martinsville. If Jeff Gordon comes along and moves me out of the way, I know better than to go back at him and try to run him off the track. I think about those things."