Scott Speed the only F1 Driver carrying the American Colors

(Associated Press)

Scott Speed, the only Formula One driver carrying the American colors, would love to score his first career points in his home country by finishing in the top eight today at the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“It would mean a lot to me to do it at home,” Speed said. “That would really be something special.”

Speed is living a dream that few Americans share. While growing up in Manteca, Calif., near San Francisco, he wanted to race in Formula One. He did not have many countrymen as role models.

Since 1978, when Mario Andretti joined Phil Hill as the only American Formula One champions, only a few drivers from the United States have found a seat in the international open-wheel series.

Eddie Cheever and Danny Sullivan gave it a try but never had any real success before coming back to the States and finding fame and fortune, including winning the Indianapolis 500.

Michael Andretti, Mario’s son, was a star in the CART series — now Champ Car — before he tried Formula One in 1993. The reception from Formula One was less than enthusiastic, mostly because Andretti chose to commute from the United States rather than move to Europe, and he did not even make it through a full season.

Then, along came Speed, 24, who moved to Europe when he was a teenager. He is in his second season driving for the lower-level Toro Rosso team, and the improvement by the driver and the team has come in small steps.

“Certainly, when I first moved to Europe and first started racing, the respect was very little,” he said. “I am sure there is not very much respect for American drivers even now.

But there have been signs that things are looking up for Speed, who finished a season-best ninth at Monaco last month.

“It is encouraging to see where we are at now, and we can kind of see where our target is,” he said. “We are pretty confident we will be able to reach it this year, which is to be in the points a few times.”