E-Mail This Article to a Friend Driven (continued)

In a Car and Driver story about the 2002 Red Bull Driver Search, the four winners of the contest — Grant Maiman, Joel Nelson, Paul Edwards, and Scott Speed — appear in a picture together wearing bright-blue, logo-emblazoned jumpsuits. Maiman, with his dimples and his cropped blond hair, has an almost rapturous look on his face, a look that says, "Wow!" Things are very different for him now. "We didn’t put the results up," he says, referring to himself, Nelson, and Edwards (Speed is still in Europe, doing well). "It’s all about results." Like any driver worth his salt, Maiman has a bagful of mitigating factors for his failure. "I got hand-me-down parts. I don’t think I got a new set of brake pads the whole season."

For the last year, Maiman has been scouring the country for sponsorship, or even just a job on a track — fixing cars, whatever. "I live out of a truck," he says. "I’m traveling nonstop: Florida, Arizona, California, New York, Indianapolis. I’m changing my oil once a week." So far, Maiman hasn’t had any takers. "I’ll keep busting, keep pushing, keep trying," he says. "I’m not done. You’ve not seen the last of me." Maybe so, but at the age of 25 — fairly old for a racecar driver — Maiman’s aware that he doesn’t have much time to make a comeback. "What’s the chance of me getting into Formula One now?" he says, adding, "I just want to be in a racecar. I don’t feel like myself when I’m not."

For Scott Speed, being in a racecar is not a problem. In the space of a single month this year, Speed was the subject of at least three Driver Search press releases: SLICK SPEED SCORES WIN (May 10); SPEED’S DEUTSCHLAND DOUBLE (May 15); SPEED STRIKES AGAIN (May 24). "[Competitor Pascal] Kochem made a mistake and I took advantage of it," Speed is quoted as saying in one release. "After that it was relatively easy to take off and win the race." You can only imagine what Speed’s failed compatriots must feel reading these breathless accounts. "It’s a lot of hard work," he says on the phone from Europe, where he continues to win races. "It’s about commitment and talent. What it takes to be a Formula One champion is to have 100 percent commitment to the sport." Speed is aiming at winning a world championship in 2007, he says, possibly 2008.

For those who aren’t being quoted saying things like "Of course, I took some risks" and "The tire decision was brilliant!", Speed’s success is probably made all the more difficult by the fact that he’s known for being, well, a bit of a jerk — a reputation that even he acknowledges. "Personally, I’m not here to make friends," he says. "I’m here to go fast." There may even be a possibility that it’s because of Speed’s caustic personality, rather than in spite of it, that he has excelled to the degree he has. As Jannace puts it, "Scott’s arrogance is what makes him fast."

Grant Maiman, meanwhile, is left wondering where he went wrong. "Maybe that’s why I didn’t succeed," he says. "Maybe I’m not arrogant enough." He pauses and adds, "I guess I don’t want to be like that. I’d rather not be like that. I’d rather be — maybe I wanted to be a better person than a better racecar driver."

In mid October, up to six of the kids competing in East Bridgewater today will be flown to Estoril, Portugal, for the 2004 Red Bull Driver Search final. From there, up to four competitors will receive the sponsorship that will enable them, perhaps, to follow Scott Speed to European glory. Even Speed, though, will have to watch his back. "Next year," he says. "It’s really going to come down to next year." Even with his recent successes, Speed is well aware that there will be dozens of Driver Search graduates ready to take his place if he slips up. A few of the kids at F1 Outdoors are already revealing glimpses of the cockiness that has served Red Bull’s current darling so well. One boy, when asked if he knows the whereabouts of a racer named Jeremy Warren, sneers, "You mean the kid who keeps finishing last?"

In fact, Warren doesn’t keep finishing last; he keeps finishing first, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by the Red Bull brass. "He has won four races in four different cars," says a rather imposing Austrian judge who goes by the name of Dr. Marco. "In racing, you must perform under pressure." Meeting Warren, you wouldn’t know he was under any pressure at all. A bespectacled 17-year-old from Noblesville, Indiana, Warren speaks in a thoughtful, deliberate manner — he often sounds more like a chess player than a racecar driver. "This is not about being aggressive," he says. "If someone passes you, you look at their line and think about how you can improve on that line. It’s not just about going fast."

After the final race in East Bridgewater, in which he finished second, Warren takes his place with his fellow victorious munchkins for a photo op under a Red Bull–emblazoned arch. A few feet away, Mike Tosi and his father are engaged in a bitter dispute with one of the race officials. The younger Tosi — who was not a winner today — looks to be close to tears. Warren, meanwhile, is on his way to the semifinals. And then, maybe, Europe. Monte Carlo. Untold riches. Chicks. "I haven’t thought about that," Warren says. "My parents ask me about it, but I just try to live lap by lap. You look too far ahead, you miss what’s right in front of you." As Warren says this, a group of young also-rans make their way through the afternoon heat toward the track’s exit, their pockets and bags stuffed with complimentary cans of Red Bull.

Chris Wright can be reached at cwright[a]phx.com