by Lee Spencer

Updated: August 4, 2008, 4:19 PM EST 23 comments

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Under new management with Jay Frye at the helm, the company hasn't made the mistakes with former Formula One pilot Scott Speed that occurred last year when freshman AJ Allmendinger was thrown into the fire.

That's not a slight on Allmendinger. The 26-year-old has persevered under challenging circumstances since leaving the world of open-wheel racing for stock cars in 2006. But after just three Craftsman Truck Series starts and one top-five finish, he was thrust into the major leagues of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The joke in the garage is that had the previous management team spent less money on office furniture, there would have been enough green in the budget to underwrite a season in the Nationwide Series for Allmendinger. Unfortunately, the organization didn't take that approach until the latter stages of the year.

Attribute Allmendinger's growing pains to the old regime. Frye's making sure Speed has ample seat time in the Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA before pushing him up the ladder.

That plan has been successful. Speed won the truck race at Dover in just his eighth career start. In addition to Speed's win, the 25-year-old Manteca, Calif., native has two top fives and four top 10s in his first 10 starts. ARCA has been equally promising for Speed, who took the points lead at Pocono Saturday after finishing second from the pole in the Pennsylvania 200. He has posted three wins, eight top fives and 11 top 10s in 13 starts this season.

Because of those runs, it's not surprising that TRB tested Speed in a Cup car at Nashville last week.

"It was a very positive experience," Speed said. "I felt very comfortable in the COT car during the test session, especially after the second day. I also feel much more confident having now gotten a chance to drive the COT car. I feel that I can be very successful in this sport, and I am looking forward to my future in NASCAR."

With veteran crew chiefs Randy Cox and Slugger Labbe overseeing the two-day test, Frye received solid feedback and "rave reviews" on Speed's progress.

"Scott ran extremely well testing a variety of set ups over 300 laps," Frye said. "This was a scheduled test to see how he feels in a Cup car and he exceeded our expectations."

Red Bull will continue testing Speed to prepare him for the Sprint Cup Series. But Frye's main focus remains on getting Brian Vickers qualified for the Chase and inching Allmendinger back into the top 35, but he expects to run Speed in a few races later this year if inventory holds up.

"We don't know when, but chances are good," Frye said. "Scott still has a ways to go. We'll continue to re-evaluate the situation, but he's given us every indication that he's ready."

Frye's primary concern is whether Speed can make the transition from 200 and 300-mile events to 500-milers and "the mental and physical preparation" that's necessary to take that next step. Frye will continue to monitor how Speed adapts to the heat in the cockpit as well.

Logically, it would make sense for Speed to race at Talladega Speedway, which could qualify the rookie for Daytona in 2009. But Frye admits that's not necessarily the case since Speed will have raced at both Daytona and Talladega in ARCA.

Still, the pieces seem to be coming together for a new bull in Sprint Cup next season.