Well-traveled Scott Speed will have another new home in 2012, after the former Formula 1 racer and veteran of all three of NASCAR's premier national touring series announced he will join Leavine Family Racing for a limited 15-race Sprint Cup Series schedule for 2012 in its No. 95 Ford.
"I am excited to team up with Bob Leavine and his guys at Leavine Family Racing," Speed said. "They have a solid group of guys working on the team and I think it will be a real fun deal. Our goal is to build this race team to become competitive. We know it will be baby steps, but we are all excited to get it rolling."
The California native, now 28, competed full time with Red Bull Racing in 2010, earning two top-10 finishes. This season, he made 13 Cup starts with Whitney Motorsports in the No. 46 Ford.
"We are pleased to have Scott Speed join our team," team owner Bob Leavine said. "We, as a team, want to give Scott the equipment and the resources he needs to win, and that is what I believe he will do for us in return.
"Scott is a proven driver. He was the first American to race in Formula 1 since Michael Andretti and has a lot to offer our program as a teammate and a competitor."
Speed has made 18 starts in the Nationwide Series and 16 starts in the Truck Series the past four years. He scored a Truck win at Dover in 2008. His best Nationwide Series finish came on the road course at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last season, where he placed sixth. Speed earned his first career Nationwide pole in 2009.
Speed began his racing career in karting at the age of 10. Making his way through the open-wheel racing ranks throughout the West Coast, he made his Formula 1 debut with Scuderia Toro Ross, Red Bull's junior team, in 2006. He made 28 starts before being cut by Toro Rosso midway through the 2007 season, although Red Bull then set him up to make the transition to stock car racing in the ARCA Racing Series.
Speed also tried to make the Indianapolis 500 this year with Dragon Racing, but did not qualify.