KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – Scott Speed needs a flawless weekend on a racetrack nobody has ever seen before.

He also needs to beat Nitro Rallycross founder and racer Travis Pastrana by at least eight points to win the inaugural championship for the high-flying, adrenaline-rushing racing series.

Even before he starts his No. 41 Subaru before the first heat races on Saturday, Speed already was handed an unintended advantage with a course that’s a perfect blend of pavement and dirt at the Florida International Rally and Motorsports Park.

“A lot of it is on a grassroots level; a lot of it is on a really high professional level,” Speed said. “The people we have racing for the championship are the best in the world at doing this. The tracks are very different from what they’ve had in the past.

“I’m guessing this one will have the fewest jumps – hopefully. As we’ve seen throughout the year, that’s an area where Travis has been so dominant. I’m fortunate to be Travis’ teammate because I get those words of advice. It’s a cool dynamic of racing that none of us, outside of Travis, have really done before. I love it so much. It’s a steep learning curve. I’ve raced a lot, but jumps aren’t the one thing I have not done. The more you do it, the more comfortable you get and the less dangerous they are.”

There are a couple of jumps, including one that will launch cars for 100 feet of flight before they hit the landing ramp. Too fast, and the car will hit the flat pavement, which can cause pain for the driver and failure for the car. Too slow, and the car can fall into a man-made canyon that also serves as part of the racetrack.

But most of the track is comprised of the tarmac and road course pavement that thousands of racers have enjoyed at the facility on the Keystone Heights Airport.

Speed is one of the most accomplished drivers in this weekend’s field. He’s a former full-time driver on the Formula One circuit. He’s also raced sportscars at the Daytona International Speedway; a season in Indy Cars and he’s made 118 career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series.

But he’s found a home in rallycross. He hopes Sunday’s main event at 4 p.m. will be another bullet-point in a successful career.

“Travis has done such a great job,” Speed said. “He’s such a good ambassador for our sport with the personality that he is. He is a great guy and it comes from an honest place as well.”

Speed wasn’t surprised when 2020 NASCAR champion Chase Elliott decided to race in the Nitro RX finale this weekend. Kyle Busch raced and finished fourth two weeks ago in Phoenix, and Speed said others will follow.

“All of us are racers at heart. We want to race whatever we can,” he said. “For these guys in NASCAR who get some off weekends, it’s sort of a no-brainer if they’re allowed to do it. It’s a really fun car. It’s a really fun type of racing. I’m enjoying the heck out of it. It’s great for everybody.”

The inaugural Nitro Rallycross season featured five races in less than two months. Speed won the stop at Minneapolis on Oct. 3.

“The thing about rallycross is it’s so fluid,” he said. “Everything can change in the first corner with everybody. Having the pole position in the finals is a big advantage. Continuing to put good weekends together is not the easiest thing to do in Rallycross. That’s why you now see [2019 World Rallycross champion] Kevin Hansen, who is one of the best in the world, is not in the title hunt.

“That’s the nature of rallycross. Anything can happen.”

Which is exactly what Scott Speed needs.