Scott Speed has a pure racing soul. He must have, because his career has survived one short, sharp, sudden death and been reborn thousands of miles away. He's hit the restart button on his metaphysical PlayStation, but this time he's booted up NASCAR 2008 instead of F1 2007.
The product of energy-drinks-giant Red Bull's multi-million-dollar quest to find an American F1 star, he walked away just over a year ago, 28 races into his grand prix career, after an infamous bust-up with his team manager.
Such was his bond with Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz, however, that this wasn't the end of the story; it was merely the beginning of a new chapter in stock-car racing.