Can Scott Speed Let it Slide in Martinsville Cup Debut?

Scott Speed, former F1 and ARCA racer, will make his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut at the short track in Martinsville, Va., on Sunday afternoon.  He will be driving the No. 84 Red Bull car.

Speed got a good look at the track today as he raced for the first time in the Craftsman Truck Series race, again for the Red Bull Team.

Scott was able to finish in the top ten in that race, securing the seventh position after several race trucks ahead him (including Ron Hornaday and Kevin Harvick) ran out of fuel.

The "Speed Demon" was also good in Cup practice, at least in Happy Hour.  He started the first practice in 32nd position, but improved to 18th during the final Happy Hour session.

But one question looms over Speed for the Martinsville race.  Can he keep his "cool" during the short track battles that will surely occur at Martinsville?

Let's face it, Speed does not have the greatest record in keeping his temper in check.  In fact, in the final ARCA race, where he had everything to lose including the championship, he punted his nemesis Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., out of contention in retaliation for Stenhouse putting him into the wall earlier.

That outburst resulted in Speed being parked for the race.  And he lost his bid to win the ARCA championship, having it go instead to third-place Justin Allgaier.

Scott excused that anger management episode as "stupid" racing in the lower ranks of the ARCA series.  He seemed to say that his behavior was almost justified because it was just regular, crazy ARCA racing.

But he is in the big leagues now, starting in his first Cup race where 12 chasers are fighting for the coveted Cup championship.  Speed cannot afford to unleash his anger, particularly if one of the Chase contenders may be the target.

Speed also needs to keep his feelings in check as he must keep that car in the top 35 in owner’s points.  If he does not do this, that car and its driver will have to qualify in on time, a highly stressful way to make the show.

So, which Scott Speed will we see on track at Martinsville?  Will it be the easy, breezy Scott Speed?  Or the angry, careening wildly out of control Speed Demon?

The race will have to unfold to see which Speed will show up for the Martinsville race day.  Either way, it will be a most interesting debut for one of the quirkiest drivers in NASCAR yet.