Scott Speed defends his X Games Gold Medal in Red Bull Global Rallycross

Today’s X Games at Circuit of the Americas in Austin may not be a points-paying round for the Red Bull Global Rallycross, but it is one of the championship’s signature events.

And for the second consecutive year, Scott Speed of Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross has earned the X Games Gold Medal.

Brian Deegan, in his first start of the season for Chip Ganassi Racing’s new rallycross team, CGR Rallycross, battled OMSE’s Sebastian Eriksson, a Red Bull GRC rookie, to kick off the race.

But Speed, in the No. 41 Shark Week Volkswagen Beetle for VARX, got into medal contention after SH Rallycross substitute driver Andreas Bakkerud spun out of contention.

Speed was past Eriksson by the halfway point and able to pull away from there. CGR’s other driver, Steve Arpinhttp://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/06/scott-speed-defends-his-x-games-gold-medal-in-red-bull-global-rallycross/, was able to make it into second with Eriksson holding off Deegan for third and the final podium position.

It gives Speed his first win of the season after winning three points-paying races, plus X Games, in 2014.

And, for good measure, he won in 2013 at the X Games, too.

It also gives Andretti a win over Ganassi for the second straight week. Call it a reach, but Andretti Autosport banked its first Verizon IndyCar Series win of the year a week ago Saturday in Detroit with Carlos Munoz winning the race and the highest-placed Ganassi driver, Scott Dixon, in fifth place.

Ganassi himself, meanwhile, seemed over the moon with Arpin bringing his Ford Fiesta home in second in only his second race with the team.

As Ganassi is set for his own Triple Crown weekend, with races in Red Bull GRC, IndyCar and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, I coined a term on Twitter to describe his weekend.

As for Red Bull GRC, its next event is a return to points-paying status, at Daytona June 20-21. That will be live at 2 p.m. ET, Sunday June 21, on NBC.