Let go by his F1 team, Scott Speed eyes U.S. return

Pushed out by Red Bull's F/1 team in late July, Scott Speed is in no hurry to continue his relationship with the team in the U.S. AP

Bounced out of his seat with Toro Rosso in Formula 1 at the end of July, Scott Speed will attempt to resume his career back home in the USA. Speed, who was pushed out after a run-in with team management at the European Grand Prix last month, will begin his comeback effort this weekend at Michigan, where he and agent Glen Hinshaw will meet with several NASCAR teams.

"Scott is looking at driving opportunities in North America," Hinshaw said. "We want to get him into a healthy race situation. We're not in a rush. Scott sees his long-term future in North America in NASCAR or Champ Car or IRL (IndyCar). He's excited. There are a lot of teams interested in Scott."

Speed's background is entirely in open-wheel racing. He was a karting star who won the Red Bull driver search program six years ago. The energy drink company funded his racing up the European ladder to F1 and he's spent the past season and a half with Toro Rosso. Speed's last race with the team was the European Grand Prix on July 22.

"Scott is a competitive guy and he's always been intrigued with NASCAR," Hinshaw said. "He looks at it as another challenge in his life."

Speed would consider a development program with a top Nextel Cup organization to make the transition to stock cars, a wise move. Speed would be competitive immediately on the two road Cup courses, but a full season in Busch or Craftsman Trucks would be a good place to learn how to drive race equipment that is completely different from he has been using.

"Considering the limited success some open-wheel drivers have had, we're willing to listen to what [NASCAR teams] have to say about it," Hinshaw said.

After leaving F1 at midseason last year, Juan Pablo Montoya drove in only four Busch races and a couple in ARCA before making his Cup debut at Homestead-Miami. Montoya also had oval experience from his two seasons in CART and won the Indy 500 in 2000. The Colombian also won seven F1 races in his five and a half seasons. This year, he's 19th in the points, with a road-course win, in what has been a strong first season, but he's also angered drivers with his aggressive -- some would say out of control -- tactics. They could haunt him in the future.

Speed doesn't have the overall experience of Montoya. He's never run on ovals and was in F1 for only 28 races. His best finish was ninth, at Monaco this season and Australia in '06.

But it's unfair to compare their performances in F1. Montoya drove for top teams BMW Williams and McLaren-Mercedes. Speed was with perennial backmarker Toro Rosso, the former Minardi operation purchased by Red Bull at the end of '05. It's the difference between Hendrick and BAM in Cup.

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