Speed trying to figure it out

Former Formula One driver Scott Speed is looking to build on his success at Talladega Superspeedway, where he finished fifth last week. Scott Speed lives on the proverbial bubble.

The former Formula One driver can count on one hand the number of times he's entered the weekend knowing he'll start a Sprint Cup event.

Speed is enjoying one of those rare weekends at Richmond International Raceway. The California native cemented the last and 36th locked-in position on the strength of his impressive fifth-place showing in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway last Sunday.

While Brad Keselowski shocked the world with his victory and Carl Edwards had his world turned upside down, Speed sped through a cloud of debris on the final lap for his best Cup finish to guarantee he'd start in last night's Crown Royal Presents Russ Friedman 400.

"We had a pretty good time [at Talladega]," said Speed, who five times had to qualify on time. "So, we came to Richmond with a lot of confidence."

And that confidence carried over to Friday's practice sessions. Then it showed during qualifying as Speed toured the three-quarter mile short track with the eighth-fastest speed of 126.180.

"The car was really good. I think we definitely lost a little bit in (turns) three and four," said Speed, who began the season with only five Cup starts.

Speed, who had 28 career Formula One starts during his two-year stint with Scuderia Toro Rosso, knew he didn't have enough to win his first pole. But he was good enough to put he and his Red Bull Toyota teammate, pole-sitter Brian Vickers, among the top 10 qualifiers.

"Obviously, both of our cars are running real strong in the qualifying trim so that's a plus," Speed said. "That's a real sign of progress for both of us.

"I'm sure the track is better, absolutely. Like I said, giving up what we did kind of made the track more comparable I think if we would've ran earlier and had a clean lap we would've ran a similar lap time.

"It's great for everyone -- both of us in the top 10," added Speed, who won a Camping World Truck series race in only his sixth start. "After Talladega's success in the race, it's just good to start the weekend off like this."

Speed, who started in Row 4 opposite Mark Martin, was looking for a solid showing to distance himself from the 36th position. He has been no better than 35th in points, which came after a 35th-place finish in the Daytona 500.

Speed and crew chief Jimmy Elledge are confident the No. 82 Toyota has progressed by leaps and bounds since the season opener.

"We've been getting our stuff together," Elledge said. "I just think we're getting everything together. We've been to a few short tracks now, and starting to figure out what we need and the communication and that's the key to it.

"It takes time to understand what he was needing in the race cars for sure," Elledge said. "Each one of those drivers is different and they've got their own little different characteristics of what makes them click. I think we're just finally getting all that figured out."