Ex-F1 star Scott Speed talks sport's popularity in America, transition to Rallycross

LAS VEGAS – Scott Speed has astir done it each erstwhile it comes to car racing.

The Red Bull operator was 1 of the fewer American drivers to vie successful Formula 1. He's raced connected ovals successful NASCAR and won respective championships successful Rallycross.

Speed competed for Scuderia Toro Rosso 28 times betwixt the 2006 and 2007 seasons. He was 1 of the past Americans to vie successful F1 races earlier Alexander Rossi and Logan Sargeant. 

At that time, the United States Grand Prix was a fixture connected the Formula 1 schedule, and it wasn’t until 2022 erstwhile the Miami Grand Prix started and, past year, the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

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Scott Speed (USA) during signifier for the 2007 Grand Prix of Great Britain astatine Silverstone July 6, 2007. (GEPA pictures/Franz Pammer via USA Today Sports)

Since 2023, the U.S. has hosted 3 Formula 1 races arsenic the sport’s popularity has skyrocketed.

"It’s retired of control. It’s so, truthful different," Speed told Fox News Digital Friday. "Honestly, it was benignant of nicer due to the fact that I’m a spot of a reserved person. So, aft I came backmost to America aft my Formula 1 vocation was over, it was rather bully really that nary 1 recognized maine oregon knew me. I could benignant of conscionable similar commencement implicit from scratch. I honestly truly enjoyed the anonymity.

"Now, obviously, it’s chill due to the fact that there’s truthful galore of my chap Americans and truthful galore of my friends and household present present that cognize what Formula 1 is, and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, you did that?' And that’s beauteous peculiar to beryllium capable to stock with them. As a instrumentality of centrifugal racing successful general, I’m truthful gladsome that, whether it was the Netflix amusement oregon a batch of factors, it’s grown present and that’s truly cool."

Speed didn’t person the occurrence of Mario Andretti, but getting to thrust astatine the pinnacle of open-wheel racing is simply a large win.

Competing against the likes of Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa is nary casual task.

"Formula 1 is the pinnacle of centrifugal racing, right? But determination wasn’t truly a way successful America. So, it was benignant of similar an ambitious goal, and I was precise fortunate to person an accidental with the Red Bull America operator hunt to person that accidental to determination to Europe and to really person a pathway from the Red Bull Junior Development programme to really get there.

Formula One operator Scott Speed (USA) during signifier for the 2007 Grand Prix of France astatine Magny-Cours Motorway June 29, 2007. (GEPA pictures/ Mathias Kniepeiss via USA Today Sports)

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"My biggest memories are conscionable however peculiar it was to beryllium capable to maximize those opportunities and really get there."

Speed said 1 of the astir hard parts of Formula 1 was to spell from winning a batch oregon competing successful the beforehand successful the feeder bid to racing hard against the champion of the best. And not ever uncovering triumph lane oregon the podium was a "difficult happening to get utilized to."

"Formula 1 is ace special, and the cars are unbelievably fast. I deliberation the astir special, I mean, everybody volition retrieve the archetypal clip they propulsion retired of a store successful a Formula 1 car. And, for me, that was Barcelona successful a V-10. So, I was besides fortunate to person the representation of the engines and they sounded amazing. Many large memories."

Speed raced successful NASCAR for respective years earlier getting different accidental to vie successful different antithetic benignant of racing – Rallycross, which takes spot connected a closed mixed-surface circuit.

Scott Speed drives the No. 41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle during the Red Bull Global Rallycross contention astatine Daytona International Speedway June 21, 2015, successful Daytona Beach, Fla.  (Brian Cleary/Getty Images)

The Red Bull jock won 3 consecutive Global Rallycross championships from 2015 to 2017 and the Americas Rallycross title successful 2018. He told Fox News Digital helium wanted to springiness himself a situation and contention successful a bid extracurricular his comfortableness zone.

"There’s truthful galore options that would person been a batch easier and possibly much of a earthy fit," helium said. "I truly wanted to situation myself and bash thing different. 

"It’s astir apt the determination I’m astir blessed astir due to the fact that it led maine down a way of exploration and learning antithetic ways to thrust a vehicle. And I fell successful emotion with that facet of centrifugal racing – distant from being bully astatine driving 1 benignant of car 1 way. I fell successful emotion with, ‘Oh, this car, I request to, arsenic a driver, bash a batch of antithetic things to optimize the vehicle.’ And I fell successful emotion with that.

"With Rallycross aft banal car racing, it was different improvement of that like, ‘OK, this requires thing else,’ and I’ve conscionable been ever successful emotion and fascinated with what it takes to effort to maximize the physics of the vehicles. I’ve been fortunate to person those opportunities to beryllium capable to spell from each these antithetic disciplines."

Speed besides offered proposal to young drivers looking to interruption into the sport.

"Don’t quit," helium said. "I truly judge you tin person everything you privation successful beingness if you privation it atrocious enough. It ever comes down to being consenting to wage the terms that it costs and if you’re consenting to enactment successful the vigor and clip that it needs to bash something. Anything’s possible.

Former NASCAR Cup Series operator Scott Speed during the Championship Race astatine Phoenix Raceway successful Avondale, Ariz., Nov. 5, 2023. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports)

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"I deliberation that the astir important happening is you emotion what you do. I was precise fortunate to find astatine a precise young property that I loved racing, and I was capable to prosecute that and crook that into a career. But I deliberation the emotion of racing is the bedrock of that due to the fact that the effort and vigor it takes to beryllium palmy successful thing arsenic hard arsenic centrifugal racing requires a batch of energy. And if you don’t emotion what you’re doing, you’re not going to beryllium consenting to wage that terms that it takes."

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