Speed Closes In on Stenhouse

Scott Speed has the luxury of two asphalt races before he really gets down and dirty, beginning with Saturday’s ARCA race at Pocono Raceway.

The Red Bull driver scored his third ARCA RE/MAX Series victory of the season Saturday night at Michigan’s Berlin Raceway. He led the final 48 laps after passing nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel and held off Justin Allgaier to earn his second consecutive victory.

He shaved 10 points off Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s championship lead and trails by 55 entering the Pennsylvania 200.

Scott will soon miss the comfortable feeling of pavement and grip. After Pocono and the Aug. 9 race in Nashville, ARCA heads to two dirt-track races on fairgrounds tracks in Illinois. His next Craftsman Truck start with Bill Davis Racing doesn’t come until Aug. 20 at Bristol.

He’ll qualify Eddie Sharp Racing’s No. 2 Red Bull Toyota at 1:45 p.m. ET.

On the Sprint Cup side …

Brian Vickers and AJ Allmendinger have a 90-minute practice at noon before their time trials at 3:40 p.m. They finished second and 12th, respectively, in the June Pocono event.