Scott in Search of ‘The Lowdown’

Safely navigating around Bristol Motor Speedway is one of the great mysteries of Scott Speed’s initial foray into oval-track racing. Luckily, he has veteran Bill Davis Racing teammates Johnny Benson and Mike Skinner to lean on, because Scott makes his first Craftsman Truck Series start on the .533-mile oval Wednesday night.

“I’m kind of relying on them to get the lowdown,” said Scott, who hasn’t driven BDR’s No. 22 Red Bull Toyota since June’s third-place finish at Michigan.

Benson has made four truck starts at Bristol, with one win and three top fives. Skinner is no slouch, either. He owns the same numbers in six starts. All totaled, the two have combined to make 50 starts at Bristol in NASCAR’s top three divisions.

“A lot of people have given me tips on Bristol,” said the ARCA points leader. “Mike and Johnny have probably run there more than anyone in the series, so they know the track well. I just hope that I adapt quickly. It should be a lot of fun and if we are there in the end, we’ll see what we can do.”

It appears Scott is adapting rather quickly. He was eighth in Wednesday’s first practice and moved to sixth in the final session. Qualifying is set for 4:15 p.m. ET, with an 8 p.m. green flag for the O’Reilly 200.