Lake Speed Shows Us His Backyard 1980s NASCAR Race Shop! (AND The Go Kart That Beat Ayrton Senna)
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- čas přidán 12. 07. 2022
- Lake Speed may ring a bell to some of you as the guy who drove the Spam car or the Cartoon Network car in the late 1990s. Prior to that he ran his own NASCAR race team out of his backyard in a building he built in 1986. He still lives there and still uses the former race shop for his current vintage Karting endeavors. Today we get to find out how the independent owner-driver ran his race team in the late 1980s! Lake also won the World Karting Championship in 1978 before ever coming to NASCAR. The guy who finished 2nd place in that race was none other than Formula One legend Ayrton Senna. Lake has that go kart here in the exact condition it came off the track in 1978!
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Thanks so much for this. Lake was 1 of my favorite drivers. Loved his win @ Darlington in TranSouth 500 in 88. His interview giving all the Glory to God is still awesome to hear. My top 3 Lake paint schemes: the Wynns/ Kmart olds. The purex and bulls eye. Thanks again for posting.
So cool seeing and hearing from Lake...just rewatched his win from Darlington.When are you going to see Dave Marcus in Arden,NC.
Lake just didn’t get the right opportunities, it’s a shame, super talented , another great video ! Keep up the good work !
Thank you for recognizing Lake!! I may be wrong, and correct me if I'm wrong. I believe some of his missed opportunities were because of his faith and morals.
Need to somehow put that car together.
Lake Speed is an amazing grandfather I am so lucky to have him
Wow. Really cool! You are lucky, don’t take it for granted.
I have got to ask do you guys still live in Charlotte or Mississippi your Grandpa is a good guy I have always pulled for him
When I was a kid, I asked him to sign my can of Spam. He said, "Boy! This is a first!" :)
AND MAKE SURE YOU TALK WITH HIM EVERY DAY JACKSON,HE'S LUCKY TO HAVE YOU
I can't remember everything
But I remember getting a program for the 1997 interstate batteries 500 at Texas(the inaugural race) and seeing the #8 circuit city Ford thunderbird and thinking it looked amazing and that lake had the coolest name in nascar, I remember pulling for Mark Martin(my favorite driver), but I always had a backup guy when I watched in case Mark didn't finish, who I picked before the race
That race I chose Lake Speed
This brought me to tears ! What a great man Lake Speed is ! I watched him back in the day but had no idea what kind of man he was ! What a story 👍👍🇨🇦🇺🇸
Lake and a few other fellows are still running Karts in Vintage classes, and yes, he is the real deal firm on his Faith.
hance
Same here. I very much appreciate learning more about him!
Never knew much about Lake until this video. Taking down Senna for the Karting championship is a pretty huge accomplishment.
The lack of these type of gentlemen is why NASCAR is falling apart. The real deal here.
Driver's used to build and tune/set up their own cars, now days the crew chief doesn't even get his hands dirty. I'm not interested in that! I like drivers that work on their stuff!
Nascar just needs to close because it's suck now days
@@WhiteOak09 Sadly that is the truth. It needs to fold up and hopefully some of the guys out there like Lake Speed could maybe organize something better. Who knows? Probably isn't easy though.
Sponsors killed nascar. The owners conformed to their agenda
Yep nascar has everybody kissing the butt of the sponsors and most if not all of them hate America, nascar just sucks now.
Lake Speed is a class act and love the way his son talks about his dad and the way he looks at his dad when he speaks. God bless the Speed family.
They walk the exact same way
One of the really cool things of this video is the proud son aspect. You can tell he’s proud of his dad.
Lake Speed - Highly underrated
Very. Dude has mad talent.
Great talent! Awesome wheel man. Just didn’t catch a break.
@Late Model 101 You're opinion - Whatever
@Late Model 101 Thats when money started to ruin the sport....
When Lake was a boy, I used to deliver the newspaper to his father's house. His brother and I went to school together and later I watched Joe race out at the track. All that to say that I have always followed his career. Glad to see him alive and kicking. Thanks, Lake for your Christian testimony.
It's hard not to root for a guy like Lake Speed. I had no idea about his success in go karts. How cool to see him tell his story and see the pride his son has about his dad and his career. Awesome Content as always, look forward to seeing what comes next!!!
I remember sitting at Dover and Pocono as a kid during qualifying and hearing the announcer say Lake Speed and saying to my grandfather....is that his real name??? He was like a superhero to us as kids in the cartoon network car. And just seeing SPAM on hood going around the track. They had the best sponsors back in the day. You could see literally anything on a hood
Lake Speed is among the one-win wonders club. He won at Darlington in the spring of 1988 the Transouth 500 in an Oldsmobile. And it was his own racing team as car owner that he won with.
I saw him do it. He was running hard.
Okay this is my new favorite. Lake Speed was always a favorite of mine because of all the things you see in this video:
He was always completely confident in his proclamation of his faith and giving God all the credit for his success.
He was a completely independent team.
One of the ONLY products I have ever went to the store and bought because I saw it advertised on the side of a (Lake's) race car was Bull's Eye BBQ sauce. Still my favorite!
Hearing all these stories direct from Lake himself is for sure a privilege! Thanks!
Dang thats awesome. We appreciate you man
That's strange ( giving "god"all the credit?) why after all the hard work, everything can be done without that creepy diety
I remember watching when Michael Waltrip sucker punched him while Lake was still in his car. Pennzoil dropped Waltrip's sponsorship the next day. I also remember that race at Darlington in 1996 where that metal went through his tire under caution. Being a former shifter cart racer myself, Lake Speed is a legend in my world.Thanks for the memories!
While watching this video I was thinking what kind of dickhead punches Lake Speed?!!!! Never liked that clown anyway!!!! The Speeds are awesome folks!!!!
This man beat Ayrton Senna in go karts then found success building his own team literally from the ground up! If that doesn’t inspire you nothing will. Could you imagine what Lake could have done with a top tier car back in the day? Thank you for this video. The history was amazing and getting to hear his sons perspective was great too. 🤘
Lake Speed is an amazing person with a very inspiring story and experience.
Lake Speed has to be one of the most interesting and coolest guys in NASCAR history. Going to Europe and being a World Karting Champion is incredible. He ran his own Kart parts company since he was 16 years old. To back that up with running his own NASCAR team and winning is something else. And as we can see in this video, he is a down to earth guy. I glad that you were able to get to spend so much time with him and his son.
Did you notice that the fuel tank on the championship kart is just a plastic jug with the handle going through the steering shaft and the jug taped to the kart.
Many people have wondered how Lake would have done if he went to Indy cars, Formula cars or some other road race series.
You are killing it capturing NASCAR history, researching and finding the interesting backstories...people, tracks, cars. Lake Speed has a great history, thanks for bringing his story back to the future. Looking forward to how the story evolves with the engine refresh. Great job by you and Logan.
Agree
I used the number 83 on my race car in 1986 and 87! I was excited when Lake showed up with that number in NASCAR! Even though I was a Mark Martin fan, I had to root for Lake too!
I used to love watching Lake race on TV. I could never understand why he essentially disappeared. TV never explained it, and there wasn't enough coverage in the Pacific Northwest to figure it out. I am happy to see him in this vid. Not sure I could've gone through all that he did and still be happy!
So good to see Lake Speed again. Always admired his skill in these cars.
The expression on his son's face with the engine rebuild was priceless. Going from his dads shop to Gibbs, had to have been night and day on how money was spent.
You two guys are nailing it with these interviews!!! The McClure series was awesome. I was so excited when I saw you were interviewing Lake Speed. I remember him from the early eighties to the nineties. He was a very good driver and a very good man who did not get many breaks in NASCAR. What he got, he earned it! I always admired him. With a name like Lake Speed, it seemed like he was born to go fast! Thanks guys for this video, and thank you Lake Speed. He still looks much the same, just got older like the rest of us.
This honestly didn't even feel like an hour, it's so crazy when you are so focused on something how fast time can just fly away. I love this stuff
agreed man
Nascar is no longer what it use to be. Owner/ operators like him made Nascar. Miss him and others from the 80s and 90s.
Richard Petty said it best: "NASCAR used to be about Racing. Today it's about the Big Event". I'll go him one better: NASCAR today is beyond a circus. It's a crash & burn derby.
That’s why I go to sprint car races . Still not corporate racing and very exciting
If NASCAR still had people like Lake it would still be a great sport not having to travel all over the country just to get fans. When all the independent guys left all the fun went out of NASCAR for the fans
@@joestephan1111 Richard Petty has it correct and he’s seen enough of it to know what he’s talking about. Nobody nobody will ever replace the king
@@tucker442
After winning his seventh title, even Dale Earnhardt in TV interviews openly said, "I am not the new King. Richard Petty will always be the King." TNN, which in those days did a lot of NASCAR coverage, openly billed Earnhardt as the "Crown Prince".
Jumped up and down in the Darlington Grandstands when Lake won the race. I will never forget that. Bet it was cool to meet him. Outstanding Video Guys.
Really enjoyed watching Lake Speed. He is one the forgotten drivers. He has a great testimony for his faith; his number #83 is the year he was saved. So much respect for Lake.
I remember watching Lake race when I was younger. There were many times he was right up there in the top 5, but seemed like he could never catch a break.
When I saw your video about Lake Speed I was ecstatic! I was a Lake Speed fan and I met him in an awkward way. After the Pocono race where he was injured, I stopped by to see him in the hospital. We chatted about that disappointing flat tire at Darlington and I expressed my best wishes to him. He was soft spoken and kind considering a stranger just walked in to see him. Looking back, it was sketchy on my part but I was so concerned and felt like I needed to wish him the best in person. If I recall, it was a bad day with accidents, Harry Gant was hospitalized in Allentown, and Lake along with Buddy Arrington were in the Wilkes Barre area hospital. I also visited Buddy who was in the middle of his dinner, I dropped off a get well card and he asked me to come back in an hour to chat. I did return and we had a nice conversation. More tragedy stuck team Arrington the following week when he put Rick Baldwin in the cart to run Michigan and was killed. I will never forget that. It is incredible how a man of your age is so into the NASCAR history, I applaud you!
That is one humble man. He listened to his calling and was blessed. You can tell to this day his belief is strong.
Absolutely
Lake speed was always a great humble guy. Have a autographed Nationwise racing picture somewhere around from the eighties. Did not know about his karting career, he beat Senna that's pretty huge.
Not only being able to hear from the man himself but have his son come along too and share stories, is just great!
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for doing this on Lake Speed Mitchell!! Guys like him participated in Nascar at a time when the sport exploded and he deserves all the attention you bring to him. Modern racing doesn’t interest me nearly as much as racing up until the early 2000’s. Awesome video!!
Here here I'm with ya .
So happy to have found this video. We rented his little house for about a year and got to know him and his family and absolutely hated leaving. Godly man for sure! !!
Always liked Lake. Did so much with so little. Not many knew, but I did, that he was world carting champion and beat Senna. And all the broken parts he showed I remember those races where he came so close. Would have for sure won the ‘93 Coke 600 had he not broke the rear end. Absolutely flying that day. Came back out after fixing it and was the fastest car on the track. Thanks for doing this video.
Thanks Todd that’s awesome!
I only knew Lake Speed because my dad had his diecast in the early 90's and I thought his name was awesome. He was a little before my time, but its so awesome to learn his story thru this tour. What an awesome guy. This channel is a goldmine for old school Nascar nerds. You wont see this kind of content anywhere else! 🤘
Thanks man!! We work hard to make sure you guys have a spot to see this stuff!
Lake’s always been a class act and one of the true good guys. Heck of a wheelman too. Super cool to see his old shop and artifacts of the past. That wynns car was sweet back in the day.
Lake is a legend and the most humble person I’ve ever known.
He was also being generous in the MPH we ran at Newcastle with the twin karts.
We hit 94.8 lol
GREAT VIDEO-
Video on my channel
Lake Speed has always been a class act,we ran against him in arca series in the early 80s at Daytona, hard man to outrun,he drove a orange and green 77 Monte Carlo, it was fast!
Great to see Lake doing so well. Raced karts with him back in the 70's in Memphis as
well as traveling down to his home track in Jackson. Later followed him through Nascar
until his retirement.
I love how he just let you drive his motor over to the engine builders. That's real trust there. Your a good couple of humans and Ruger too.
Dude, another banger! I''m 50 and you are killing it by bringing back the history of these places and people. I'm familiar with many of these stories and glad you're showing the younger generation. Keep doing these.
I got to watch Lake Speed dominate the field for two vintage races at Barber Motorsports Park in 2003. It’s no wonder that the other guys wanted to step up their game.
That’s awesome 😂
It's funny u say that. Cuz I was wondering if they stepped there game because of lake speed.
I could spend days with Lake and Junior listening to their stories. Just normal country folks that are humble as can be. What wonderful and genuine godly people. Great video!!!!
Thanks Landon!
What an amazing man Lake is. Thru ups and downs he gave it his all. Incredible.
He drove the dirt track car I grew up working on when I was young. Our local track had “NASCAR nite”. Also Cale Yarborough drove one car. We were the purple gang cars. Pretty nice to see him again.
I had to watch this 3 times. Lake Speed was one of the driver's you pulled for. After losing his sponsor...why didn't he just build Race Engines or Race cars and sell them? He and his crew built everything in house and no doubt a proving winner. Wynn's had the best stickers. I love the old school NASCAR you are nailing it. Can't wait for what is next.
You hit this one out of the park! There are probably many guys like me (66 years old) who watched races on TV back in the 60's to late 70's, then life kind gets in the way. For me it was Chemical Engineering degree (BS, MS) followed by employment/career, marriage, family. You put your head down and focused on job/career/family. So now that I am retired (after 40 years), it is like coming up from a deep dive and getting a chest full of fresh air. I found your channel and now I am learning about a whole new world that went on in parallel to my 40 year career. I never knew about Lake Speed, and now I do, and appreciate what this man did and still does. Thanks for all your effort!
That is so awesome man!! This comment makes me feel good about doing what we do
Seeing those "89-"97 Thunderbirds sure brings back some good memories.....Back when Ford was "THE" manufacture that everybody wanted to run.....And the last of the good classic 2 door body style.👍
What a humble man. Thank you for sharing this and especially for letting me tag along. When NASCAR was NASCAR! From Ohio.
Any time! We are glad you're here!
Its no wonder I haven't watched a nascar race in 10 yrs or longer. Guys like this are what made it great with there ingenuity and determination to be better. I wish whats left of the old guys would start a racing circuit
That was super cool those late 80's early 90's memories take me back. I would love to see a video of Lake back in car.
Great video! I was racing Karts in 1977-79 and Lake Speed was the greatest! We were so proud when he won the World Championship. And he is a true gentleman. A real man of Faith.
Was a fan as a kid. My father introduced me to Nascar when I was in grade school...love the history....very cool to see. I really admire that Mr.Speed acknowledges God and his beliefs, and for the success of the team and such. The days of the owner/driver is part of what made Nascar what it is.
What a very enlightening history of Lake that most people are unaware of. He's an amazing driver, manager, individual self made man, racer, owner who should be celebrated for his accomplishments. Well done
Thanks man. Lake is an awesome guy
Lake Speed even sounds like a racer. He reminds me so much of Larry Perkins from Australia. Very very similar history of being good in Europe and running and racing his own car back home. Larry is a multiple Bathurst champion and a super down to earth car engineering genius.
What a GREAT history experience! The wealth of knowledge those men have forgotten is more than most of us will ever learn. What an awesome story, and you never hear a time in his voice to be angry or disappointed (other than parts breaking that cost him races) of his career. What a wonderful amazing man!!!
Thank you!!!!
My grandparents lived through the woods from lake speeds old shop on Hilton lake road and we use to hear them Dyno motors it seemed like all the time through the woods it was like the best music to your ears to hear them motors fire up and rev until 8800-9300rpms and then throttle down!!! Cool to hear them mention the paint and body guy Rick Brakefeild (The body doctor) my uncle which is still painting show cars today.! Holler at me I can take you to his shop over here in kannapolis NC and hear some more stories about racing and when he was painting the 42 Kyle petty Mello yellow cars and the silver bullets.
What he did in Cup racing is often overlooked, but it was nothing short of amazing. Incredible driver, would've loved to see him in F1 but God had other plans for him. He's a national treasure.
Absolutely!
What a guy, I'm 75 years old love what you do, you never dissapoint. My nascar love started in the late 50s so most of what you do is my era. Can't tell you how much I look forward to your vidios, thanks agian.
We are glad you are here man!
I remember Lake, and it was awesome to hear some of his stories from racing. Very underrated racer. Having his son there to talk from his perspective was great. Another awesome video in the series my man.
Thanks man! Lake Jr is how this was facilitated!
I love this, you can hear just how excited Lake Speeds son is to share all this history about his dad. THIS is what makes Nascar and a few other Motorsports so awesome, yeah the wins and victories are awesome, but it's the stuff that happens off the track that really makes it amazing.
I well remember lake Speed from his go-kart days. He was a sadly underappreciated talent. I also still have a copy of my IKF Karting News from around 1968 with a picture of "little Ricky Rudd" (I think he was around 12?) and his Nationals winning kart.
I remember seeing that 83 live in person. Beautiful stock car. Was just a little kid but those painted rides were something else in person. I really wish JD was around so you could talk to him. Maybe you can make it up to Wisconsin to see Old Man Marcis. The Owner-Driver guys were truly American Heroes and Legends. Excellent video! Keep em coming!
Great interview and Lake and his son are real good people!
So glad to see Lake is doing well.
I can still remember the announcer’s had so much respect for Lake Speed as an owner operator. His son does an amazing job keeping the memories going.
This was soooo awesome! And getting that engine was beyond cool! If it was me I'd rebuild it in my garage like the old days! I wish I could find one those and drop it in my 70 Mach 1
My father and I met lake back in 1993 and he was without a doubt one of the nicest people I've ever met. I still have my motorcraft hat and a quality care jacket that he autographed.
I got to meet Lake in 93 when I was 10 at Talladega. One of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.
I was in the Army in 1986. We were on Christmas break from Basic Training while stationed at Fort McClellan AL. The base chaplains took our group Talladega Speedway for a tour. While we were there Lake Speed was testing his Pontiac Grand Prix still in primer red paint. He graciously took the car around the track a couple of times so we could see a car go around the track. I never forgot this and always looked at the race stats after a NASCAR race to see how he did during the race. Thanks Lake Speed!😂
I love me some Lake Speed! I grew up when he was driving the number nine blue spam car. It's fascinating that he almost went the formula 1 route. If I'm not mistaken he raced with and beat Ayerton Senna who is probably one of, if not the best race car drivers in history
Edit: I clearly wrote this before watching the video
Lake Speed and Dick Trickle are neck and neck for best names in NASCAR history.
Lake Speed is amazing. Lots of stories to tell.
I stumbled on to this video. I’m 47. I grew up around the Elliot racing scene in Georgia. I remember Lake Speed!! The name and legend. These guys, back in the day, built NASCAR.
You guys keep knocking out of the park, great to hang out with Lake Speed! Thanks, Cheers!
Another super cool video, it was really great to see inside a shop and some of the hardware. It's a real shame Mr. Speed didnt receive more media attention because he has a great story! I learned a lot by watching this, thank you!
Thanks Anthony you’re absolutely right. So we’re gonna get his story out there now 💪🏻
Thank you so much for doing this video. Mr. Speed was one of my favorite drivers back when he raced, especially when I found out he is a Christian. What an amazing testimony.
What an amazing man. The pride his son has for his father is clear and admirable.
God bless the Speed family as they live a righteous life through their love for Jesus.
Very underrated driver. Glad to see Lake is doing great!!
Thank you so much for documenting all of this history. Without y'all a lot of these stories would be lost forever. You can definitely tell how much Lake Jr. loves & admires his father!! I truly envy you & Logan for everything y'all are doing with your lives & this channel. I know it's a ton of work, but y'all look like you're really enjoying what you're doing. Looking forward to seeing what the future holds!
Thank you Kerry!
One of the coolest videos I have ever watched. Got into stock car racing watching Richie Evans at Lancaster and Spencer Speedway in the early 70s. Love to watch the old school drivers share their stories. Thank you from Rochester, NY.
Thanks man!!
LAKE SPEED is a Legend! So awesome to see how he’s doing. I was a kid when he raced but I remember all the racing kids talking about him growing up around racing in Northern California.
Was my favorite Driver in the 80s till retirement,still my favorite Driver and Builder. What a good man!!
Dude I don’t think the two of you know how lucky you are and just might be the only and last explorers of early racing that made todays racing what it is now. Truly lucky!
what a freakin cool video! Time capsule indeed. Lake Speed was great back in the day because he was truly the David vs Goliath going with the big teams with his small group and running up front. Would love to see Speed in the SRX series, im sure he would be right in the thick of things. Hope we get to see the results of that engine
I didn't know anything about Lake Speed. Wow what an eye opener that interview was. Great interview and I can't wait to see what is coming down the pipe. You guys are awesome. Keep up the great work.
Thanks Dennis we appreciate you!
This IS my spot. Learned a lot about Lake Speed today, what a talent! Can't wait to see you get his car running.
I was just a boy but remember Lake crying and the emotions he showed. You automatically felt how hard they had worked.
Fantastic work with this old nascar history!! I was a big fan until Ricky rude retired! I was a JR fan as well but nascar changed in the mid 2000s and it’s not for me anymore. But seeing this 80s90s history is awesome
10:13- Concerning the broken parts:
1. I think the first piece he picked up is the forward half of a pinion gear, as I seem to recall a string of similar failures. The idea is, you pull into the pits, get your service done, and when you dump the clutch to leave...you'd snap off that piece of the pinion gear, clean as glass. One specific example I think was Michael Waltrip in the Pennzoil car, and another example of metallurgy having not yet caught up to the HP race.
2. The intake valve looks like it broke the lock (two little half-moon pieces that lock it in place up top), once again, a metallurgy failures.
3. The small round bit...no idea what that was, I didn't get a good look at it.
I have a lot of memories of what you are telling about here. I was at the track competing against Lake's team with various other smaller teams which were about the same caliber at the time. The shop and team setup was very similar and knowing some of the guys from the garage area every weekend was a neat experience to have gone through while the sport was still expanding into what it once was. I am glad I got to live it in real time and seeing this video really brings it all back home.
Great story. Sometimes the Universe just takes over and things happen. Heard of and saw footage of Lake Speed for years but never saw his personality. What a great guy.
Without a doubt, the BEST Nascar video you have made so far. Now I understand why you relocated here. Great work, keep them coming.
Thank you Ed!
LAKE SPEED WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE DRIVERS AND I ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM. I;M GLAD TO SEE THAT HE IS GOOD AND STILL RACING. THANKS FOR THE GREAT VIDEO!
I was a fan of Lake as a kid! I didn't know anything about him but I liked his name. Pretty cool to see the shop and his beginnings. Also that is a really nice SLEEKCRAFT/MERCURY outboard in the back. Those are sweet boats!
Lol, I was a fan and loved his name as well. Whenever my buddies and I would race on our bikes, I would pretend to be Lake Speed.
Loving these old Nascar vids with the actual racers/owners. You are seriously living the dream man.
I agree. Life is a trip these days
Really enjoying all this old school nascar stuff! Brings back a lot of good memories!
If We had stuff like this back in the day & while growing up I would have been A HUGE
Lake Speed Fan❕
This was amazing and I am now A HUGE
LAKE SPEED FAN & Supporter 💯
Obviously your passion and hard work has literally opened doors for you to get these great interviews with some of Nascars greatests names! Congratulations to you both,Well done!
I remember being a fan of Lake in the 90s when I was just a kid. Always rooted for him. Fell down an old Nascar rabbit hole tonight and looked him up. Glad to see he's doing well.
If you enjoy the rabbit hole you’ll have fun on our channel for sure. Thanks man 🏁
You are both putting out amazing content! Me being a former go-kart racer, really hit a nerve. Then beating the guys he did, like Senna, is amazing in itself. Might be tie to get back into karting. Once you drive a kart made for racing, you are hooked. Very cool work ya'll!
Thanks Eddie!