Lake Speed at Daytona UPDATE and wins: Located in the infield near Turn 4 at Daytona International Speedway, guests at the Brumos Continental Historics will find NASCAR Winston Cup Series veteran Lake Speed tooling around with his #83 Ford Thunderbird. Speed, who last competed in a Winston Cup car back in 1998, is visiting the “World of Center of Racing” this weekend to compete in a pair of Historic Stock Car Feature races. The 54-year-old Speed, a native of Jackson, Miss., who now resides in North Carolina, is retired from racing, but remains very active by spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren. He’s also involved in the real estate business and is currently the chairman of the board for Motor Racing Outreach. But Speed still misses the feeling of driving a race car. “Full-time basis now with 38 weekends, I don’t miss that part, but I really miss driving a car,” said Speed, who made 402 Winston Cup starts. “It’s been really hard. I started racing when I was 12 years old. I raced non-stop every season until halfway through 1998 when I got hurt. I haven’t been able to race since and that was tough. It was a big life change.” Earlier this year, one of Speed’s friends twisted his arm and convinced him to compete in one of the Historic Stock Car Racing Association events. That was the first time Speed has gotten behind the wheel since he drove his last Winston Cup race at Loudon, N.H., in 1998. Speed had so much fun that he decided to knock the dust off one of the stock cars he still owns and come to Daytona. He visited some Winston Cup auctions to pick up some equipment and another friend built him a motor. This weekend at Daytona, Speed won’t be competing on just the 2.5-mile tri-oval like he did during his Winston Cup career as the Historic Stock Car Feature races utilize the 3.56-mile road course. The Brumos Continental Historics continues this weekend. Tickets are available by calling the Speedway ticket office at (386) 253-7223.(DIS PR)(11-2-2002) UPDATE: Lake Speed, retired from NASCAR Winston Cup Series competition since 1998, drove into Victory Lane on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway as a winner in the Historic Stock Car Feature Race during the Brumos Continental Historics. Speed, driving the No. 83 Ford Thunderbird that he built, owned and raced in the early 1990s, couldn’t help but think about all the other victories that have escaped him at the “World Center of Racing” as he drove into Victory Lane after pulling off the dominating win. “This place has been really avoiding me for a long time,” said an emotional Speed holding back the tears. “There have been so many near-misses here where we thought we’re going to win races.” Speed, who finished second in the 1985 Daytona 500, had a little problem with the start of the eight-lap race, but then cruised to victory. Speed, who will get a chance on Sunday at 3:05 p.m. to sweep both Historic Stock Car Racing Association races at Daytona, says he might continue to compete in the series next season.(DIS PR)(11-3-2002)
