Lake Speed - NASCAR and Karting Star

In 1978, a young American driver traveled to Lemans, France, and pulled a huge upset, winning the Karting World Championship race. On that day he bested, among others, the future Formula One star Ayrton Senna. And, he is still the only American to have won the Karting World Championship. That driver was Lake Speed! Lake won six International Karting Federation championships in his early karting days. In 1980 after considering racing in other series such as Formula One, CART, and IMSA, and getting advice from current Lowe's Motor Speedway promoter, Humpy Wheeler, Speed chose to go NASCAR racing. According to Speed, "It was the highest mountain to climb."