ELLSWORTH – With his surname being what it is, there was only one direction his life could seemingly take.

He would have to strap himself into a high-powered machine and he would have to go fast. Real fast. Breathtakingly fast. Scare-the-hell-out-of-you fast.

His name is Speed.

Lake Speed.

The Kannapolis, N.C., Winston Cup driver will be doing what he does best this Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway, site of Sunday’s Slick 50 300.

Heading into Sunday’s race, Speed is 10th in the Winston Cup points standings – matching his best season, 1985.

“We’ve done reasonably well,” said Speed, who is in his first season running with the Bud Moore Racing Team. “We’d like to be first, but what driver wouldn’t? All in all, with this being a new situation with this team, we can’t complain. We’re getting a little better every week.”

Speed started his career racing go-karts as a 13-year-old. He climbed the ladder of success at that level, winning the national championship and then the world championship in 1978 in LeMans, France.

“I stayed with them forever,” Speed said. “For 19 years, I never really had any ambitions to do any professional racing. It never crossed my mind.”

Once a few of his opponents began showing up on the highly prestigious Formula One circuit, Speed began rethinking his career plans.

“I remember saying, `Hey, I’ve beaten those guys.’ I thought maybe I do have what it takes,” Speed said.

Instead of joining the Formula One ranks, limited finances pushed Speed to the Winston Cup series.

“We got involved in Winston Cup racing and tried to build ourselves a career,” he said. “We bought a used car and went to the race track.”

In 1988, Speed won his only Cup race – the TransSouth 500 at Darlington International Speedway.

Last year, his career got an unexpected boost, but it took a tragic accident – Davey Allison’s death in a helicopter crash – for the opportunity to present itself.

After Allison’s death, Speed took over as temporary driver for the No. 28 car.

“Driving Davey’s car was a real highlight in my career,” Speed said. “To have an opportunity to step into such a top team and car that had been winning a lot of races, it was a real boost for my career.”

While Speed’s career has prospered, he will never forget the feeling of loss and pain that the tragic 1993 racing season brought with it.

“Last year was a very emotional and traumatic year for everybody in Winston Cup racing,” Speed said. “But, life goes on. Races still take place.”

And Lake Speed, who only knows one form of life, is always there, doing the best he can, in a sport tailor-made to his last name.