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February 28, 2009
Scott Speed on the Pole for the Nationwide Race in a Michael Waltrip Racing car!
The good news for Michael Waltrip Racing continues - after an excellent Cup qualifying effort yesterday, Scott Speed put the #99 car on the pole for the Nationwide race today! What's impressive is that not only is Speed making his first start for MWR in the #99, it's his first-ever start in the Nationwide Series! Pretty good way to start out! In his first start I think it's a little too much to expect that he's going to win from the pole but given that he clearly has a fast car, if he stays out of trouble he should be able to race competitively and finish well.
The results for Speed in Cup haven't been good so far - although he finished 16th in the season-ending race at Homestead last year, in six other races his best finish is 30th, including finishes of 35th and 41st in the first two races this season. So being able to race up front and finish well in the Nationwide Series should give him confidence that he can do well in Cup even if the early results are poor. I'm glad that Red Bull Racing seems to have learned something from where they went wrong with A.J. Allmendinger and entered into the deal with MWR to put Speed in the #99 to get him some much needed experience that will surely benefit him in Cup.
Hope Speed and the #99 team have a great race today!
Posted by silverdsl at February 28, 2009 02:04 PM