Speed to Champ Car?

UPDATE #3 With Meurmans making it clear that Robert Doornbos will stay in F1 (Doornbos is said to have $5m and $10m – available from Muermans) it now becomes quite possible that he could replace Scott Speed at Toro Rosso opening the door for Red Bull to move Scott Speed to Champ Car which certainly could use another American driver. This all made sense to us when we first surfaced this rumor way back on October 23rd and it still makes sense to us today.

12/11/06 This rumor is upgraded back to 'speculation' per this SPEEDTV article which says that Scott Speed's F1 ride could be in jeopardy, especially with Sebastien Bourdais testing for the team this week. "At the end of the day we’ll chose the one who will be the quickest in our car. I would like to give him [Bourdais] a chance," said Berger. "I think he’s a guy doing an extremely good job in the States, and I would like to see where he is. He did quite well in Europe, and he’s doing very well in the States, and I’d like to see where his potential is."

10/26/06 Based on this related rumor, this rumor is downgraded to 'false' today.

10/23/06 A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, If Robert Doornbos is indeed going to take Scott Speed's ride in F1, why doesn't Champ Car jump in and see if they can get Speed to drive in Champ Car. It would benefit the series with another American driver to replace NASCAR bound Allmendinger. Rod, Orlando, FL.

Dear Rod, If the rumor is true about Speed, then yes, it would make sense for him to move to Champ Car. Having another American driver in Champ Car would indeed be a plus for the American-based series, but it will be a loss to the series if they lose the sponsorship backing Doornbos had and the potential of a new team that it brought. Scott Speed is also a Red Bull driver, as is Allmendinger, it's quite possible that Red Bull will move Allmendinger to NASCAR and SPEED to Champ Car. Mark C.