CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Scott Speed is the latest former Formula One driver to move toward NASCAR, announcing Thursday he’ll run the ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Speed will drive the No. 21 Toyota for Eddie Sharp Racing in the Oct. 5 event. The car will be sponsored by Red Bull, which has a five-year association with Speed.

Speed won the Red Bull Driver Search in 2002, and the program was designed to find an American driver to compete in Formula One. As the winner, Speed received financial backing to race in the Europe and prepare for an F1 ride.

He got it in 2006 with Scuderia Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s sister team. He was fired from that ride midway through this season, and returned to the United States to pursue other driving opportunities with Red Bull teams.

Red Bull hooked Speed up with Sharp, who fields two Toyotas in the ARCA Series. Both cars are ranked in the top 10, and driver Michael McDowell is second in the points.

Speed will make his stock car debut in a third Sharp entry.

“I come from a completely different world of racing, so there’s no doubt it’s going to be a challenge learning how these cars handle,” Speed said. “But I’m ready to get out there and see what I’ve got.”

There was no word on what other plans Red Bull has for Speed. The team fields Nextel Cup cars for Brian Vickers and A.J. Allmendinger.

Speed is following Juan Pablo Montoya, who left F1 last season for NASCAR. He made his stock car debut in the Talladega ARCA race last October.

Former world champion Jacques Villeneueve is also making the jump from F1 to NASCAR, and he’ll make his Truck Series debut this weekend in Las Vegas.