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| Lake Speed | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Speed in the No.9Cartoon Network-sponsored Ford in June 1998. | |||||||
| Born | Lake Chambers Speed (1948-01-17)January 17, 1948 (age 77) Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||
| Awards | 6× United States Karting champion 1978World Karting Champion | ||||||
| NASCARCup Series career | |||||||
| 402 races run over 19 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 10th (1985) | ||||||
| First race | 1980Winston Western 500 (Riverside) | ||||||
| Last race | 1998Jiffy Lube 300 (New Hampshire) | ||||||
| First win | 1988TranSouth 500 (Darlington) | ||||||
| |||||||
| NASCARO'Reilly Auto Parts Series career | |||||||
| 6 races run over 2 years | |||||||
| First race | 1983Miller Time 300 (Charlotte) | ||||||
| Last race | 1984Miller Time 300 (Charlotte) | ||||||
| |||||||
Lake Chambers Speed (born January 17, 1948) is an American retiredstock car racing driver. He formerly competed in theNASCARWinston Cup Series, scoring one career win in 402 starts.
Lake was named after the best friend of his father, Bob Lake.[citation needed] Lake's father,Leland S. Speed, took office as theMayor ofJackson, Mississippi, in 1948, the same year that Lake was born. He started his racing career at the age of thirteen racing karts, much to the displeasure of his family. Over the years, Speed won the International Karting Federation (IKF) National Championship six times and in 1978, he won the prestigiousKarting World Championship over, among others, future three-timeFormula One championAyrton Senna.[1] Speed had been the only American to win theKarting World Championship until 2015 when 14 year-oldLogan Sargeant of Florida won the KFJ World Karting Championship.[2]
In 1980 after considering racing in other series such asFormula One,CART, andIMSA, and getting advice from current Charlotte Motor Speedway promoter,Humpy Wheeler, Speed chose to go NASCAR racing. According to Speed, "It was the highest mountain to climb." Speed's relative unfamiliarity with the NASCAR scene led him to buy his first car from someone in Chicago. Speed started nineteen races in his rookie year scoring an eighth atDarlington Speedway in his third career start. Speed also scored finishes of seventh at the springTalladega Superspeedway race, eighth at Talladega's fall event, seventh atCharlotte's fall event and eighth at the season ending race atOntario Motor Speedway. Speed finished 22nd in overall points and second toJody Ridley in the rookie of the year standings.
In 1981, Speed again ran his own operation starting 27 of the 31 races on the schedule. Lake was unable to qualify for the 1981 Daytona 500, but did manage to win the thirty-lap consolation race, leading the race from start to finish. He scored a ninth-place finish in both races atRockingham and atBristol. He followed that up with a seventh inMartinsville Speedway's spring event, an eighth at the now-defunctTexas World Speedway and a sixth in the late summer Talladega event. Speed's final top ten would come at Bristol in August where he finished seventh. The final points tally came up with Speed finishing eighteenth in points. One special footnote for Speed during the '81 season was that he enabled future NASCAR pace car driverElmo Langley to start his 536th and final NASCAR race at Dover in the Mason-Dixon 500. Langley started 29th and finished 29th completing only six laps before a driveshaft failure.
1982 was Speed's first full year of competition on theWinston Cup circuit. This time, Speed was driving for the first time for another car owner,Roger Hamby. The beginning of the season was a struggle with Speed not obtaining a top ten finish until the eleventh race, atDover International Speedway. In July at Daytona, Speed scored his second top-ten finish with a ninth. Speed continued to struggle as the season wrapped up managing to finish sixth in theSouthern 500 at Darlington and eighth at the fall event at theNorth Wilkesboro Speedway. Speed finished twentieth in points.
1983 was a year of major change for Speed. He was now driving for an established owner inHoss Ellington, however on a limited schedule. The team showed promise early in the season scoring a fourth at Rockingham and a sixth at Darlington. It was at Talladega where Speed's life took a major change. Towards the race's end, Speed was leading the field with a chance to win his first Cup race. He was beaten at the end byRichard Petty andBenny Parsons. After the race, Speed decided to change his life and become adevout Christian. The week after Talladega, Speed scored another top ten with a sixth in theWorld 600 at Charlotte. Speed's final top ten of the season was the AugustMichigan International Speedway race with an eighth-place finish. Speed finished 27th in the points standings.
1984 was much the same. Starting 19 of the series' 30 races, Speed showed some early season strength with a third at Rockingham, a ninth at Atlanta and a sixth at Charlotte. At the firstPocono Raceway race, Speed qualified second and finished tenth following that up with a fifth at Michigan. Speed finished eighth in the late summer Talladega race and had a near win in theSouthern 500 starting second and leading 28 laps before he crashed out. Speed's final top-ten was at Atlanta with a seventh-place finish and 26th in points.
Speed also started six races in the NASCAR Busch Series between 1983 and 1984. He only made one start in 1983, at Charlotte in the Miller Time 300, where he finished sixth. In 1984, Speed lost by two feet toDarrell Waltrip in the season opening Goody's 300 at Daytona, and scored another top five in the Mello Yello 300 at Charlotte. Speed's worst qualifying effort was a thirteenth place start in the season opener. Speed's starts were fifth at Darlington, seventh at Charlotte, third at Darlington and ninth at Charlotte.
1985 was Speed's breakout season in NASCAR. Running a full schedule under theRahMoc Enterprises banner, Speed started off the season with a second-place finish toBill Elliott in theDaytona 500.CBS's pit reporterMike Joy conducted an interview with Speed after the race, during which the emotional driver repeatedly thanked God for the successful showing. He followed that up with a tenth atRichmond International Raceway and a fourth at Rockingham, taking the points lead early in the season. After an engine problem at Atlanta, Speed scored a string of strong runs: seventh at Bristol, ninth at Darlington, ninth at North Wilkesboro, eighth at Martinsville and tenth at Talladega. Speed then finished sixth in theWorld 600. The stretch run of the season took its toll on the team and Speed's position in the points fell; however, he continued to post strong runs, finishing seventh at Talladega, tenth at Bristol, tenth at Dover and seventh and ninth-place finishes at Atlanta andRiverside International Raceway to round out the season. Overall, it was Speed's best year in terms of points, notching a tenth-place finish.
Speed started off the 1986 season with a tenth in the Daytona 500 and a tenth at Rockingham but after the fourth race of the season, he was ousted from the ride.[3] Speed started one more race that season, filling in for the ailingRick Wilson in hisMorgan-McClure Motorsports ride at Charlotte finishing fourteenth. Shortly thereafter, Speed began working again at starting his own race team.
1987 was a building year in many ways. With sponsorship from Wynn's Car Care products,Kmart and Delco Battery, Speed built an entirely new race team with himself as the owner, and veteran crew chief Darrell Bryant helping him to build the operation. The purple and whiteOldsmobile donned the number 83, in honor of the year Lake became a born-again Christian. In his thirteen starts Speed finished ninth in the first Talladega race and followed that up with a third-place finish in the World 600. Speed's other two top ten finishes were at the same tracks, seventh place at both Talladega and Charlotte.
The team's strong 1987 performances continued in 1988. With strong support from theHoosier tire company, Speed ran strong in the Daytona 500 before dropping out due to an engine failure. The next race, at Richmond, Speed ran up front leading sixty-seven laps but finished sixth. The following race, at Rockingham, Speed again showed power, leading fifty-one laps and finishing second toNeil Bonnett. Speed's first win came March 27 at Darlington in theTranSouth 500. After starting the race eighth, Speed methodically moved his way to the front before eventually taking the lead and running away from the field. Leading 178 of the 367 laps, Speed beatAlan Kulwicki by half a straightaway to secure his first and only NASCAR Winston Cup win.[3] One of the factors in Speed's victory was that he was the only driver who tested the Hoosier tires at Darlington. Where most of his competitors thought that the Hoosiers would blister, Lake and his team believed that they would not.
At Dover, Speed finished fourth, following that up with finishes of ninth at Daytona and fifth at Michigan. In theVolunteer 500, Speed led sixty-six laps and looked like a strong contender for the race win before blowing a right front tire and hitting the wall, effectively ending his day. Speed's last top ten came at the 1988Delaware 500 with a ninth-place effort. The season ended with Speed seventeenth place in the final points rundown.
Speed had strong finishes in 1989 with a Bull's Eye Barbecue Sauce sponsorship Speed said was "worth peanuts." At Rockingham, Lake took eighth and a few weeks later he finished tenth Darlington. Speed finished fifth in the inaugural event at Sears Point (now Sonoma) Raceway and a seventh a few races later at Michigan. However, in the July race at Pocono, Speed was injured in a two-car wreck that also injured driverGreg Sacks. Although Sacks' car overturned, Speed was injured more severely, and missed several races. While Lake recovered from his injuries, he had several drivers drive in his place includingJoe Ruttman at Talladega, Michigan and Bristol;Eddie Bierschwale at Watkins Glen; andRodney Combs at Darlington. Lake returned to action in the Miller High Life 400 at Richmond to finish 14th. At the final race of the '89 season at Atlanta, Lake was able to conclude a personally disappointing year with a 10th-place run.
In 1990, Speed started only six races with Prestone sponsorship, finishing two of them. The best finish of Lake's abbreviated 1990 season came at Talladega's Die Hard 500 with an eleventh place effort. Speed also fielded cars for short track aceTommy Ellis andPhil Parsons in two races. Ellis started theDelaware 500 at Dover in 31st and finished 32nd after an engine failure. In theNational 500 at Charlotte, Parsons drove Speed's car with Baja Boats sponsorship to an eighteenth place run. 1991 was an improvement in terms of races started. Speed replacedDick Trickle inCale Yarborough's car but struggled with mechanical failures throughout his stint with the team. In twenty starts, Speed's best finish was an eleventh at Bristol in August. In 1992, Speed got back to his own team starting just nine races with Purex as his sponsor. The team suffered several mechanical failures and Speed only managed to have a best finish of eighteenth in the final two races of the season at Phoenix and Atlanta.
After driving his own car during a handful of races in the 1993 season's first half, Speed was called to drive forRobert Yates Racing, filling in followingDavey Allison's death.[4] Speed qualified fourth atWatkins Glen International. He followed that up with a second place start at Michigan and a seventh place finish. The next race at Bristol, Speed was running a strong race before contact late withRick Mast ruined his chances at a top-ten finish. After Bristol, Speed was replaced byErnie Irvan, but less than a week later, on September 3, it was announced that Speed would drive the No. 15 Ford owned byBud Moore for 1994, replacingGeoff Bodine, who would depart from Moore's Ford to drive his own team which he purchased followingAlan Kulwicki's death. However, two races later at Dover, Speed replaced Bodine in Moore's No. 15, as Ford allowed Bodine to take over Kulwicki's former No. 7 for the last seven races of 1993, in preparation for his first full season as an owner-driver. Speed's best finish for Moore at the end of the '93 season was an eleventh at Charlotte.
Speed remained with Moore for the 1994 season starting off with finishes of sixth at Atlanta, fifth at Darlington and third at Bristol, moving up to fifth place in the points. Two races later, Speed finished seventh at Talladega. It was during this time that Speed was inducted into the karting hall of fame. Speed would have to wait until the July Daytona race to get another top-ten finish, a tenth. Speed and the team ran good through the summer stretch, often starting near the rear of the field but moving to the front. Unfortunately, Speed did not manage a top ten finish until Dover where he finished ninth. In the final four races, Speed had three great runs. A fifth at Charlotte, a tenth at Rockingham and a fourth at Atlanta where he led twenty laps. It wasn't enough for Speed to finish in the top-ten in points. He finished eleventh behindBill Elliott.
Speed moved over toMelling Racing team for the 1995 season and resurrected the organization. The normally red and white Melling car now was emblazoned withSpam sponsorship and blue and yellow colors. Speed had two top-ten runs, at Charlotte in theCoca-Cola 600 and at Darlington in theSouthern 500 to finish twenty-third in the points rundown. However, the 1995 season provided Speed with what is perhaps his most famous moment. After theMiller Genuine Draft 400,Michael Waltrip blocked Speed's car in the pits. Waltrip, angry over an on-track encounter with Speed, pulled down Speed's window net and began throwing punches at Speed, who was wearing his helmet.[5].The incident was broadcast in front of a live television audience on the CBS network and resulted in a $10,000 fine for Waltrip.[6]
During the 1996 season, Speed earned his first career NASCAR pole, albeit in a non-points event, the Winston Open. At the Miller 400 at Michigan, the normally blue and yellow SpamFord was graced in red, white and gold in honor of 50 years of Melling's parts company being in operation. Speed and the Melling Racing team notched an eighth place finish at Pocono in the Miller 500. Speed stunned everyone in qualifying for theBrickyard 400 at Indianapolis with a third-place effort. During the race, Speed made a daring three-wide pass to take the lead. The finishing order saw Speed finish thirteenth after leading two laps. At the second race in Michigan, the GM Goodwrench Dealer 400, Speed led seven laps and looked poised to possibly capture his second NASCAR Winston Cup victory before getting caught up in a wreck started by Sterling Marlin. Though Speed qualified poorly for theSouthern 500, he quickly moved his way through the field. Just as he neared running in the top ten, a right front tire cut and Lake had to pit under the green flag, losing two laps. However, the strength of the car would prove itself as Speed worked his way back to finish tenth, the final top ten finish of his career.
In September 1996, theUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln announced a three year sponsorship deal with the assistance of former Husker linebackerTrev Alberts.[7] However, the sponsorship never saw the track due to a disagreement over sharing space on the car with other sponsors.[8]Speed and Melling ran a limited 1997 season. Speed qualified for all 25 races he attempted. Lake and the team raced to a solid twelfth place finish in the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond, then followed that up with a sixth-place qualifying effort at Atlanta. During the midpoint of the season, the No. 9 car was filmed for the TV movieSteel Chariots. In the Miller 400 at Michigan, Speed earned his and the team's best finish of the season, an eleventh. A few races later, Speed finished twelfth in the Brickyard 400. At Richmond in the Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400, Speed seemed to have one of the stronger cars, leading three laps through a series of green flag pit stops. However, during the stop, the crew bolted the left side tires on the right side and the right side tires on the left, forcing Speed to make multiple pit stops and dropping him out of a chance of having a good finish. A few races later, Lake had a 14th-place run at Martinsville in the Hanes 500. The Melling team was able to get sponsorship for the last four races of the season from Advantage Camo, their best finish being seventeenth at Rockingham's AC Delco 400. Speed finished 35th in the points standings.
1998 was Speed's final Winston Cup season. Having secured sponsorship from theCartoon Network,[8] Speed's best finish of the season was in the Daytona 500 where he tangled withJohn Andretti with two laps to go bringing out the yellow flag that effectively won the race forDale Earnhardt. The 1998 season proved to be a challenge for Lake and the Melling Racing team. It appeared as if the team was struggling with the new Ford Taurus bodies, and that translated to some poor results. AtSears Point Raceway, Speed appeared to have a chance to turn his season around. He was strong during the first practice session with the second fastest speed behindJeff Gordon. In the second practice session, Speed ran over debris thrown on the track by a car that had gotten off course, cut a tire and slammed into one of the tire barriers breaking his sternum. Speed missed the event and was replaced byButch Gilliland, but he returned to the next race atNew Hampshire. However Speed was caught up in a wreck not of his own making and aggravated his injury. Following the New Hampshire race, Speed felt it best for the team to find another driver.[9] With Speed's age being against him and a push for younger drivers, he effectively retired from NASCAR racing. Though Speed only made 16 starts during the 1998 season, he still finished 43rd in the points standings.
In 2006, the International Kart Federation established the Lake Speed Achievement of Excellence karting award in honor of the 1978 World Karting Champion. The award was presented for the first time at the IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals August 3–6 at Fontana, California. The inaugural recipient was Matt Johnson of Las Vegas, Nevada. Nick Johnston of Northridge, California was awarded the honor in 2007. The award went to Taylor Miinch in 2008 and Mike Botelho Jr. in 2009. And youngest winner of the award went to Ryan Schartau of Chino, California in 2013. The recipient of the award could be a driver, team, kart shop or any combination thereof, and the winner is determined primarily on sportsmanship, driving achievement and professionalism during the race event.
On occasion, Speed still drives karts, and has four wins in Historic Stock Car Racing Association events on Daytona's 3.56-mile road course in 2002 and 2003 driving one of his old 83 Purex-sponsored Ford vehicles.
Speed currently races in theWorld Karting Association's National Road Racing Series schedule, in the Spec 125 TaG 1 and 2 classes. On July 30, 2010 Speed was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Since 2016, he has been an avid follower of the RHPK kart series. In November 2023, he went toVirginia International Raceway and raced his 1993 stock car at the age of 75.
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Speed Racing | Chevrolet | DNQ | |
| 1981 | Oldsmobile | DNQ | ||
| 1982 | Buick | 32 | 41 | |
| 1983 | Ellington Racing | Chevrolet | 16 | 25 |
| 1984 | 16 | 37 | ||
| 1985 | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 14 | 2 |
| 1986 | 36 | 10 | ||
| 1987 | Speed Racing | Oldsmobile | 33 | 26 |
| 1988 | 10 | 37 | ||
| 1989 | 39 | 30 | ||
| 1990 | 14 | 16 | ||
| 1992 | Speed Racing | Chevrolet | DNQ | |
| 1993 | Ford | 13 | 14 | |
| 1994 | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 22 | 14 |
| 1995 | Melling Racing | Ford | 16 | 14 |
| 1996 | 32 | 14 | ||
| 1997 | 35 | 24 | ||
| 1998 | 16 | 17 | ||
| NASCARBusch Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | NBGNC | Pts | Ref |
| 1983 | Speed Racing | 66 | Pontiac | DAY | RCH | CAR | HCY | MAR | NWS | SBO | GPS | LGY | DOV | BRI | CLT | SBO | HCY | ROU | SBO | ROU | CRW | ROU | SBO | HCY | LGY | IRP | GPS | BRI | HCY | DAR | RCH | NWS | SBO | MAR | ROU | CLT 6 | HCY | MAR | 104th | 150 | [29] |
| 1984 | 83 | DAY 2 | RCH | CAR | HCY | MAR | DAR 25 | ROU | NSV | LGY | MLW | DOV | CLT 3 | SBO | HCY | ROU | SBO | ROU | HCY | IRP | LGY | SBO | BRI | DAR 26 | RCH | NWS | CLT 29 | HCY | CAR | MAR | 37th | 584 | [30] | ||||||||