Speed Concepts Racing its eighth season developing drivers in karting (Photo: Studio52.us)

Athletes are either born with natural talent or they work non-stop to become the best they can be. Racing is the same, as some drivers adapt to the speed and challenge much more quickly, while others need to put in the time and work to gain the experience needed to become a top contender. Speed Concepts Racing is among the karting operations dedicated to pushing drivers to compete at their best and to learn to perform at their best lap after lap with their focus on driver development. SCR is owned and operated by Mike Speed, a prominent figure of karting for nearly half a century.

Mike Speed is a karting ‘lifer’, having been around the sport for over 45 years. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, Mike moved around with his family as his father was in the Air Force. Eventually, they ended up in California, where Mike would call home. He began as a karter himself, reaching the top levels of the sport in the 1980s, which included racing against some of the sport’s most recognizable names like Lynn Haddock, Scott Pruett, and many others in the Northern California region and across the country.

After his stint behind the wheel, Mike turned the keys over to his sons – Scott and Alex Speed. The Speed family called Manteca, California home – a city east of San Francisco and south of Sacramento. Mike has his own successful career, but the resume developed by his boys is legendary.

Mike Speed (Photo: SCR)

Scott began karting at the age of 10 – using the many club tracks in Northern California to build up his skills as a driver. Moving into the shifter ranks just as Superkarts! USA was established, Scott became the star of the sport – winning the SKUSA SuperNationals three times (1998, 2000, 2001), earning the SKUSA ProMoto Tour championship, and winning the coveted Rock Island Grand Prix King of the Streets in 2002. That was his final karting achievement before moving into open wheel cars in the Skip Barber Formula Dodge National Championship. His path led to the Red Bull Driver Search – which was the beginning stages of the Red Bull Junior Team. This progression led to Scott becoming the first American driver to compete in Formula One since Michael Andretti, when he joined Toro Rosso team in 2006. NASCAR followed and now Speed is a Subaru factory driver in Rallycross.

Alex followed suit, beginning his karting career in the late 90s. Alex followed in his brother’s footsteps, and went beyond in terms of success in the sport. Alex is also a member of the three-time SuperNationals winner list (2000, 2001, 2010) along with earning two Superkarts! USA ProMoto Tour championships (1999 and 2003). Add in the back-to-back Stars of Karting championships in ICC competition, and it’s a resume that put him among the elite all-time in American karting. The Speed family became the only brother duo to win the Rock Island Grand Prix King of the Streets crown when Alex took the victory in 2008.

Throughout the careers of Scott and Alex, both drove multiple brands of karts. Scott was known for his time aboard the OTK chassis while Alex saw at least a dozen different brands during his tenure behind the wheel. The one constant to all their different colors of suits and chassis – they won. Both of Scott’s SuperNationals wins were on two different karts – KGB and Tony Kart – while Alex won on KBG, Tony Kart and GP. Alex’s championships and success across his career featured many other brands. This experience exemplifies how the Speed family understands how to make something work and can drive it to the front.

Alex Speed (Photo: Studio52.us)

After Alex hung up the helmet, he and Mike both moved to Florida and worked for the Ocala Gran Prix operation. The Speeds were among a collection of all-star personnel on a team that featured multiple driver coaches and tuners who helped to develop a long list of drivers through the Ocala, Florida based operation. The race team gained national and international recognition for their success on the track and the work put in together as a team off the track. Among the drivers earning multiple victories and championships with OGP were Oliver Askew, Kyle Kirkwood, Nick Neri, Ashley Rogero, Morgan Healey, Ryan Norberg, and Austin Garrison.

By the end of 2016, Mike ventured out on his own with a program based out of the Orlando Kart Center – establishing the Speed Concepts Racing operation. The original goal of SCR was to ‘provide a unique package and value to those competing at the national level’. That focus was directed at the younger categories and driver development as the focal point for the team.

Mike Speed – “At that time, I felt there was a need to establish our own program with driver development as the key aspect. You can put all the money you have into the equipment, but you still need to understand how to maximize its potential. With karting, the driver is the biggest factor in putting together the perfect lap or the perfect race. They must be consistent and calculated when it comes to performing at their best. The drivers we have had come through SCR have understood this concept and acquired the knowledge on and off the track to succeed behind the wheel.”

Jack Jeffers is among the SCR alumni to move up the motorsports ranks (Photo: EKN)

After his tenure at OGP, Alex joined SCR to make it a true family operation. Since its inception, Speed Concepts Racing has been producing results, both in victories and championships, along with developing drivers through the karting ranks and into professional motorsports. The first driver rosters for SCR included the likes of Tyler Gonzalez, Paul Bocuse, Jamaican Alex Powell, and current IndyCar driver Kyffin Simpson. Gonzalez gained a strong CV through karting and is now competing in different form of sports cars. The same can be said for Bocuse as he worked his way through the karting ranks from Cadet to Senior level racing before moving on to car racing. Powell competed in his early years of karting in the USA before setting his sights in Europe, where he went on to gain recognition as a factory kart driver before landing a spot as a Mercedes F1 Junior Driver – and he is currently racing F4.

The list continues to grow, with some of the latest graduates from Speed Concepts Racing making a name for themselves in sports car and open wheel competition. One of the more recent graduates is Jack Jeffers, who currently races in the USF Juniors presented by Continental Tire championship.

Jack Jeffers – “I enjoyed my time working with them and I think they were a great fit for me. I would say they were the best team to be on in the paddock for having a well-known name and background of success. Mike has knowledge over everyone by leaps and bounds and it shows. Alex has a massive racing background where his knowledge and understanding of racing makes him the best coach to have. As well as he knows how to talk to drivers in an effective way that makes them understand and be able to apply what they learn from data to their on track performance. They run a very professional program off-track. It’s run like most car racing teams and will instill a proper level of professionalism in a driver. Along with that, they have an exceptional engine program. Their engines never let me down and have always given me the power to win. Being with this team helped progress me a lot as a driver and a lot of my success I’ve had in formula car racing so far is due to them.”

Alex and Mike Speed enjoy passing on their knowledge to the future stars in karting and motorsports (Photo: Studio52.us)

One unique aspect with Speed Concepts Racing is their in-house engine program – SpeedLab Racing Engines. The Speeds are working with fellow OGP alum Mario Ioffredo, who has established himself as one of the top engine builder in the industry today, working with IAME, ROK and Rotax engine platforms.

In addition to Mike and Alex Speed, Speed Concepts Racing provides decades of knowledge within their other driver coaches and mechanics working directly with the drivers. Many have established karting careers of their own, many with a long mechanical and engineering background.

Alex Speed – “Becoming a consistent contender in karting is not easy. It takes dedication and hard work but also an understanding of what or where to improve. The staff we have under SCR carry a work ethic that gets the best out of the equipment and pushes every driver under the tent to perform better than their last session. Winning is the ultimate goal and we strive each and every driver to be there on top of the podium at the end of the day.”

Be sure to follow Speed Concepts Racing on Social Media:

Facebook: Speed Concepts Racing

Twitter: @SCR_Karting

Instagram: @SCR_Karting

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