Speed to test for likely Cup debut

The Red Bull racer will be driving the No. 82 Red Bull Toyota on September 23 and 24 at the mile-and-a-half oval, where all teams are expected to run in preparation for round 31 of the championship, the fifth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Speed has already tested a Cup car at Nashville and Kentucky earlier this year, but this time he will do so alongside Red Bull's regular drivers and those he expects to be racing soon every weekend.

"I raced at Lowe's earlier this year in the Truck Series, so I'm in a good position totest the Sprint Cup car since I'm familiar with the track," Speed said. "The track itself is nice to drive on because the two corners are very different.

"Lowe's is a track that has character too. It's not a cookie cutter track so I enjoy racing on it a bit more than some of the others. It will be good to see where we stack up against everyone else, since there are so many good teams that will also be testing."

The former Scuderia Toro Rosso driver has been racing full-time in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, where he currently leads the points after winning four out of seventeen races contested thus far.

He also won at Dover earlier this year in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where he has been runnning a partial schedule for Bill Davis Racing.