Go, Speed Racer, Go

For Scott Speed, (yes, that is his real name) driving the No. 82 Red Bull Toyota Camry seems to come naturally. In fact, you might say racing is in his blood.

"My dad raced carts when I was a kid," said Speed. "And he was a three-time national champion when he did it."

But NASCAR wasn't his first love. Speed first tackled the world of Formula One racing.

"NASCAR to Formula One? I don't know; the size, it's totally different," said Speed. "Formula One is so big on a world scale, and there are so many people in the world that know it. When you travel to Brazil and get off the airplane, the whole country pretty much knows that you are coming."

Speed was the first American to tackle the F1 world since Michael Andretti back in 1993.

He spent two seasons racing for Red Bull overseas before making the jump to stock car racing.

"It's a different feeling, different vibe," said Speed. "Formula One racing, you've maybe got 80,000 fans physically there, but you come to a racetrack like this (Texas Motor Speedway), it's like football -- a stadium. There are like seats everywhere and the place is packed."

But he appears to be finding quite a home on the NASCAR circuit.

"It's almost like a little community. It's like a traveling circus," said Speed. "We all have our fun, simple stuff, like playing cards and having good time. But it's kind of in our own little world that kind of goes from week in to week out."

Speed also spends quite a bit of time with fellow driver Kyle Busch.

"Kyle Busch and I started an RC (remote control) race car team. Kyle has been doing this a long time since he was kid, " said Speed. "He is actually sponsored by one of the RC car manufacturers. I just started getting into it, and I was like, 'Dude,' and the next thing you know, a week later, we are out of control (and) we have a team."

Speed also enjoys how accessible NASCAR has made its drivers to the fans who are so passionate about the sport.

"They (NASCAR) have made the drivers heroes and have made them very tangible; it's touchable," said Speed. "The amount of autographs sessions we do and how much interaction we have with the fans is a lot. And that's what I think makes the sport so successful here."

For more on James Chippendale, the host of  "Last Call," and his Love, Hope, Strength Foundation, click here.

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