Countdown: Mississippi

Hernando de Soto discovered the Magnolia State in 1540. De Soto automobiles found their way to Mississippi much later. In a place where cotton was king for many years, it's music that's king -- or would that be the King? -- now linked with Mississippi.

	ACCELERATION 2006 There's more to the new season than just driver changes. Read more about what to watch for as we rev toward Daytona.  •   Testing archive,  click here •   Complete coverage, click here Preseason ThunderCatch all the highlights from Daytona Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters and B.B. King, Jimmy Buffett, Faith Hill, Conway Twitty and Tammy Wynette, Charley Pride and Leontyne Price all hail from Mississippi, along with a young man from Tupelo who turned out to be a fair singer in his own right -- Elvis Presley.

Mississippi authors are among some of the nation's most influental: William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Eudora Welty and Shelby Foote.

When it comes to NASCAR, Mississippi's most famous son had the perfect racing name.

Best behind the wheel

• Lake Speed, Jackson

The son of Jackson's mayor, Lake Speed began racing go-karts at 13, apparently against his family's wishes. However, he showed he was very good at it, winning the U.S. Karting national championship six times. Speed became the first American to win the World Championship of Karting in 1978 at Le Mans, France, beating future Formula One great Ayrton Senna.

In 1980, he decided to head to NASCAR. Driving the season opener for Cecil Gordon at Riverside, he finished 29th. Speed went on to post five top-10 finishes, including both Talladega events -- and ended up second to Jody Ridley in rookie-of-the-year balloting.

Over a 19-year career that saw him make 402 starts, Speed scored 16 top-five finishes, including being the only other car on the lead lap when Bill Elliott won the 1985 Daytona 500. But his career highlight was a victory in the 1988 TranSouth 500 at Darlington, where Speed led 178 of the 367 laps and won by 18 seconds over Alan Kulwicki.

Inside the Numbers Lake Speed's career statistics Races 402 Wins 1 Top-5s 16 Top-10s 75 Avg. Start 21.1 Avg. Finish 20.9 Earnings $5,455,728

An accident at Sears Point in 1998 left Speed with a broken sternum, and he aggravated the injury a week later at New Hampshire, which forced his retirement at age 50.

However, Speed's legacy in NASCAR isn't just about his statistics. Along with Darrell Waltrip and other drivers, Speed helped form Motor Racing Outreach in 1988, the ministry that performs chapel services every weekend on the road with the NASCAR Cup Series.

Speed remains active in MRO and handles public speaking engagements.

We wish ...

NFL Hall of Famer Walter Payton had become a NASCAR driver.

ARCHIVE •   Countdown to Daytona

The Columbia native and Jackson State product held the NFL's career rushing record until Emmitt Smith broke it in 2002. Payton was a racing fan who drove sports cars competitively and co-owned a CART team with Dale Coyne until his death from liver disease in 1999.

Keeping it on the track

There have been no NASCAR races held in Mississippi, although there are more than two dozen tracks currently in operation in the state, mainly dirt ovals.

However, rumors of a proposed $100 million track to be built in Tunica County surfaced in 2004. According to the Mississippi Business Journal, a one-mile D-shaped racetrack that would seat 150,000 plus 50 luxury suites, a drag strip and 1.9-mile road course was in the planning stages. The county board of supervisors was considering a zoning change to 500 acres.

A word from our sponsor

• Harrah's Entertainment, Tunica

The Horseshoe Tunica facility is the central and most desirable location in a 70-acre, three-property casino center complex on the Mississippi River. The 65,000-square-foot casino features more than 2,000 slot machines and more than 70 table games, including craps, roulette and poker.