Catchfence

Who: Scott Speed (82 Red Bull Toyota), Brian Vickers (83 Red Bull Toyota)
What: Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 (Sprint Cup)
When: Friday-Sunday, July 31-Aug. 2, 2009
Where: Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa.

+ POCONO: ROUND 2

Now that the Sprint Cup Series is entering August, Scott Speed is getting a second glance at the tracks he saw for the first time in spring and early summer.

Pocono Raceway is an exception. Speed has three starts at the 2.5-mile tricky triangle. In the two ARCA races at Pocono in 2008, he won the pole and finished second both times. Earlier this season in the No. 82 Red Bull Toyota, Speed started 37th after a rained-out qualifying session and finished 32nd.

“Passing is not the easiest thing to do at Pocono,” Speed said. “But there are these long straightaways that create braking zones that you don’t normally have.”

Speed’s coming off a 31st-place finish Sunday at Indianapolis. After starting 26th, he never could overcome an early green-flag pit stop for a failing tire and fell a lap down. Still, the rookie remains positive heading to another track with long straightaways.

“We were so competitive in the corners,” Speed said of his race at Indy, “but we couldn’t do anything with the guys down the straightaways. We got into the wall a little bit and had a little smoke, so we decided to come in — instead of the playing it risky — and lost a lap.”

The No. 82 ranks 36th in the car owner standings — 187 points from the top 35 entering the season’s second race at Pocono.

+ FEELING THEIR PAIN

At the race track, Scott Speed relates to men who race at 200 mph. At the Victory Junction Gang Camp, he relates to kids who suffer from Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Driver No. 82 made his first trip to Victory Junction in Randleman, N.C., on Tuesday to be part of “Irritable Bowel Disorders Week.” When he was 20 years old, Speed was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis — a painful, unpredictable, chronic inflammatory disease that attacks the large intestine or colon.

Speed took a tour of the camp that caters — free of charge — to chronically ill children. He sat down for dinner with the kids and played games.

“A really cool experience,” Speed said, “hanging out with a bunch of kids. It’s easy for me to relate to. It’s always fun to be able to go to places like this.”

www.redbullracingusa.com www.facebook.com/redbullracingteam

Speed recently signed on to be a national spokesperson for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA).
Visit www.ccfa.org.

+ FROM SOCAL TO THE POCONOS

Before a long weekend and long 500-mile race at a track with the longest straightaway in all of NASCAR, Brian Vickers bailed to the West Coast to check in on X Games 15. The best in extreme action sports are in Los Angeles from Thursday through Sunday.

Vickers was part of the surprise celebrity roast for Red Bull athlete, rally racer and freestyle motocross ace Travis Pastrana on Tuesday night. At Indianapolis, Vickers promised to throw a few verbal jabs at Pastrana, who’s a six-time FMX gold medalist in the X Games.

“Travis and I have become friends over the past couple of years,” Vickers said. “What he does, what he’s capable of, is amazing. He’s so talented in — or on — any type of vehicle.

“Certainly, getting the chance to see what those guys do is unreal.”

Vickers’ stay in L.A. was short, however, as he returns to statistically one of his better tracks in Pocono Raceway. In his 11 starts there, Vickers has qualified in the top 10 eight times. He’s finished in the top five four times, including a second-place showing in the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota in June 2008.

“Pocono is unique,” said Vickers, who finished fifth at Indy for his third top-five and ninth top-10 finish of the season. “It has three very distinct turns. It’s a fun track to drive. The front straightaway is very important. It always has been. Getting off of (turn) three, just keep your momentum up and get all you can heading down the longest straightaway.”

Sitting 15th in the standings, Vickers is 120 points out of the top 12 with six races remaining before the Chase begins
Sept. 20 at New Hampshire.

- Red Bull Racing Team, Press Release