Are You Superstitious?
If you weren't before today - you might be now. It's Friday the 13th and Red Bull Racing's No. 83 and No. 84 Red Bull Camry's are going home from Chicagoland Speedway. That's right folks - no green flag, no checkered flag, and no racing in between for this team. Crew Chief Doug Richert summed it up best for Vickers crew with, "From the time we unloaded off the hauler, to the time we qualified, our car was just junk." Allmendinger's No. 84 crew found some speed during practice and was cruising along in 22nd on the speed charts, but couldn't pull off the lap they needed on their qualifying run. It's back to the drawing board...
posted by Wise Little Portraits at 3:42 PM
42 Comments:
It stinks that neither of the boys made the race. Hopefully, they can spend the next 2 weeks, working on their cars for the Brickyard. I'd love to see either the 83 or 84 kissing those bricks!
We're all thinking it's not Friday the 13th that's bad luck, but the new paint scheme! Let's bring back the normal paint scheme for Indy!
Bring it on Boys--Let's KISS the Bricks!
WE BELIEVE!!!
I know there are many AJ fans out there, but I have to say this: TRB should focus on ONE car next season, then bring back AJ once BV is in the top 35.
It's ridiculous and wasteful to try to get 2 cars in and end up with none.
Don't give up BV!
Its gotta be the new paint scheme, the cars arent as awesome with the stripes gone. Persoanlly I think the last version was way better.
Go Vickers and Allmendinger! We believe!
------------BULL SPOTTER--------
I agree with the complaint about the new paint scheme. We all like the idea of trying new things out, but this one is way too BLAH! You can't even see the "ligtning bolt." Blue on blue just doesn't stand out. We seem to favor the Kick-A$$ scheme of old. What can you tell us about bringing it back? Any other paint scheme info would be appreciated by the citizens of Vickersville.
Thanks!!
Sitting AJ is NOT a good idea! With two teams, TRB is getting twice the feedback! Besides, how will AJ ever learn without the seat time?
DON'T EVER GIVE UP BRIAN OR AJ!
WE BELIEVE!!!
you could put aj in the busch series or truck series and then bring him up to cup...and the old paint schemes need to be brought back
BRING BACK THE STRIPES!!!!! They were awesome!
WE NEED THE STRIPES!!!
And AJ- you can't get rid of him, he is an integral part of TRB's bringing sexy back!LOL
You guys can't make a race and you are worried about a paint scheme?!
Somebody better start figuring out where the problem is and get it fixed!
I am on the outside looking in and like Red Bull because of BV, AJ, and Richart.
It is obviously NOT the motors b/c other Toyota teams are using what Red Bull has. Who sets these things up? Who is the lead engineer? Who is over aerodynamics? I understand there are several former Hendricks engineers. Are they being listened to?
I'd like to see Team Red Bull have a second season, but at this rate....
I'm not negative, I'm realistic. Somebody has to say it....
ice we know its not just the stripes and i agree there are other things that need to be done...I seriously think that having two teams is too much to handle at this point in time...I really think AJ needs more experience..maybe in trucks because he seems to really take to those
It's just life in motion. We'll go for it again at Indy.
Rest up guys. Spend some time with family and freinds. Have some laughs.
Ice---we're a first season team with a lot of things to figure out and a lot of go-or-go-homers to battle with! This is just the beginning.......the teams are learning a lot right now!
We're talking about paint schemes because we choose not to wallow in self-pity for our boys not making a race! Of course we're sad! But what good does it do to sit around and whine about missing a race! We know they're in a BIG learning curve right now and we're gonna support them no matter what!
Team Red Bull is in Nascar for the long-haul! Nobody gives up after just the first season! Things take time.......and TRB understands that! They are making strides and will NEVER GIVE UP! So their fans won't either!
I don't care whether AJ gets the seat time or not - 2 cars is a lot to keep up with starting out.
Think bigger picture, and you realize AJ and his car are not the most necessary pieces of the puzzle - sexy or not...
Wow is all I can say Vickers has done well at Chicagoland the previous 3 times he has qualified there. I wonder if he'll be spending this weekend at the big chair or the big apple. sorry to hear this yet again... augghhhhh
info@vickersfans.com
AJ should not sit out at TRB! He is a great driver and has every right to be there. You can't blame what is happening on anyone. We all knew coming into this that we'd hae some struggles. We are dealing with them now. It will get better. AJ and Brian have a lot of heart. I'm sure most drivers would be ready to give up.
Keep your heads up, AJ and Brian!
WE BELIEVE!!!
83,
Respectfully, I agree that you don't wallow and whine. What you DO is find the problem ASAP and fix it.
The Red Bull leadership are successful people and I bet that behind closed doors they are embarrassed and pi--ed!
Doug said the car came off the trailer as "junk"!!
Again, I am not part of the organization, but out here in the corporate world heads would start to roll.
If I worked in engineering or aero I'd be staying up late at night looking for answers.
It's a good thing the top 35 rule will probably change or go away next year - because the past month has killed any shot BV had of working his way into that spot. What a shame. Just too bad the cars aren't fast on Friday this year.
The Brickyard will be tough - but the top 10 qualifying run at Pocono last month should give some hope.
And I agree - the paint scheme had finally evolved to where it was really good before they changed it completely. I really hoped the Daytona scheme was a one race thing, but I guess not.
kyle hpb ummm brian was in a hendrick car when he qualified for those races...and I dont see him driving a chevy on the racetrack..i see him driving a toyota...no one said this season was going to be easy..brian said it himself they were going to get better as time goes on...and for this whole aj thing I really think they should put him in a truck or a busch car..he can stay in the cup car and he doesnt have to race in the races where he has to travel but he needs more experience
I love both Brian and AJ, they make a great team and they both knew it was going to be tough going into it so I think we should all just give them a break...look at this way at least there both not like Michael Waltrip who has only qualified for 4 races this season...there is a plus were not the worst toyota team and if you look at all the other teams there struggling as well
SO NO ONE GIVE UP!!!!
hey anonymous
the tundra program started off kind of rough as well im not doubting them one bit
kyle
Ice-
You stated that you are not inside the organization.......so how do you know that they aren't doing the things you said? Sometimes problems aren't easy to pin-point! I'm not claiming to be an expert or anything.....I'm not on the inside either. I just know that our guys are some of the hardest working guys in Nascar! They have some kinks to work out but with them being a new team with new manufacturer.......that's expected. Even some of the established teams struggle with set-ups.....I know Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon have called their cars junk on more than one occasion!
The 83 team has had more "Shining moments" than all the other Toyotas combined....that's saying something! They ARE getting some things right and they are working the others.........things take time! 18 races is not enough to judge them by.........we just have to be patient and wait to see what the future will bring.
I know I'm not giving up....I've been a BV fan for years and I'm happy he left HMS for TRB.........I see a great future for TRB in Nascar! But these things take time.....
You're entitled to your opinion as much as I am to mine.....I don't want to make this an argueing match because we both know that the other can never change our own mind........
I know this is off suject but I don't feel like getting involved in the argument going on. If anyone finds pics of BV playing in the charity softball game from this past Thursday, will you pass on the website URL? I'm horrible at finding pictures like that and I'm having no luck. Thanks!
Reading the comments from Vickersvillians who bleed Red, blue, and yellow make my heart swell. I love being a TRB and BV fan. This is just the first year guy's. It'll all come around. Onward and upward!
No one's saying that they aren't doing their work. Obviously something was amiss today and that's why they missed the show. It's EXTREMELY frustrating to sit there and watch the fast track waddle around the 32nd - 40th lines on the grid and slap on 40th when he crosses the line, but what can we do? We're only fans...and good fans at that. We can't tell TRB to "GET YOUR STUFF TOGETHER, GET THE AERO GUYS AND ENGINE GUYS IN THE OFFICE AND FIGURE THIS OUT ASAP"...You just, as a fan, go "the cars were crap this week...but they've been good other weeks."
We made the show at Loudon and POSSIBLY, MAYBE, COULD HAVE run top 20. They found the car to be illegal and we're gone. We were running 6th at Michigan when we crashed...TRB's luck, it was the only crash all day and we finish 43rd. We were middle of the pack at Darlington when we were taken out and relegated to a 38th or 39th place finish. We were running top 20 at Atlanta when we got a little loose and tapped Biffle and finished 40th. Take back those mishaps and we're not "right in the thick of things" but we're certainly more confident than we are now.
In NASCAR, we've learned to play the hand we're dealt, and this week..just wasn't our week.
AJ should go to the truck series or the busch series. He is not big league material, not even close! If I was him I would seriously wonder if I had a job for next season.
You can't keep blaming the cars. The driving is not good...
83,
It is nothing personal and I did not mean to come across as argumentative. We simply have different personality styles. You are kind and patient. I am more emotionless and solution driven.
I bet things begin to change.
One other thing to remember is the size of the challenge of this year. With the old car and the COT this is the hardest year for the big boys, much less a new team, with a new manufacture, and a new motor package. Two cars doubles the amount of information gathered. This was always going to be the hardest/worst year, but they need to go through it to learn and grow as a team and to know where the changes need to be made. I think it has been harder than EVERYONE expected. The payoff will be in the years following.
Please remember that Brian, AJ, the crews, families, and loved ones read this site. It's really rude to be bashing people when you don't know what is going on behind the scenes. As fans, we knew this season was going to be tough. We just need to keep the faith and remember that it will and can get better. Indy is in 2 weeks, I have all the faith in the world that we will be seeing the 83 and 84 racing! Hopefully the teams can step back, breathe a little, and get ready for the remainder of the season. They have been working their butts off at the shop.
Ummm in qualifying the cars matter more than the drivers...when those two cars are in the race they race fine...the qualifying is what is killing them...I also think if they change the top 35 rule it would help out a lot because when Brian or AJ dont qualfiy they are always the ones that are the last to get knocked out not the first
The top 35 rule is rubbish. It's use as an incentive to keep sponsorship agreements in tact needs to be reconsidered by Nascar. The drivers are both more than capable and if anything I'd like to see AJ (eventually) move into the F1 ranks and represent the US (with Red Bull).
I will be at the race tomorrow (Sunday) with my Red Bull shirt on no matter what, I still will support our team and hold my head up high!!!! We all have to believe and know it will get better, a new team does take time!This team is working very hard and some day soon, it will pay off.
I think that Vickers is doing pretty good... if not for those wrecks at MIS and Daytona, he'd be much higher up. He's shown that when he's in a race, he's capable of driving well and finishing well. The issue is with quals, and the top 35 rule needs to go (how stupid is it that someone can qualify last and still be able to race or fail inspection and still get to race?) and TRB needs to figure out how to make their cars run faster in quals. Probably a lot of it has to do with setups, and other teams have much more data, etc to go on. Data that TRB doesn't yet have.
I don't think that taking AJ out would help any. Having just data from one car driven by one specific driver isn't as useful as from two cars driven by two different drivers since driver's each have their preferences and driving styles. Thus, since this year is TRB's first year and kind of a test year, it would make more sense to have AJ drive.
"Are you superstitious?"
No. Superstition has nothing to do with science and skill.
http://www.chicagolandspeedway.com/cgi-bin/r.cgi/cls_photos_archive.html?SESSION=wFPIjDso8&N=&event_id=2031&Offset=0
there is the link to the softball pictures!!! There are quite a few of brian :)
Thanks for finding those pictures! I've looked there before but I must have had bad timing.
God Bless Anonymous for finding those pictures for us!:)
Ice--
Thanks for your kind words...and I meant nothing personal either. I just tend to get a little defensive about my boys!
I'm just so proud of what they have accomplished so far this season even though they have had some struggles. And I know that AJ and Lynne and I'm sure more TRB team members and family members read this blog. I just want them all to know that we fans are behind them 200% no matter what!!
We started the paint scheme deal because the designers have listened to us before on the paint scheme configuration and we want them to know how we feel about the newest one. Seems like a general consensus that we want the "regular" one back!
Don't give up TRB!
WE BELIEVE!!!
No problem about the pics I wanted to see them too...lol
Go team red bull!!!
Nice run Dave! Great finish!!
Good job david in the truck race...he did so good
Historically 1 car teams cant even compete with multi car teams, so its ridiculous to think that bv by himself is going to be better than having AJ with him. Having AJ in the trucks and/or busch along with him running the cup car so he can learn the tracks he is going to makes the most sense.
I agree keep AJ in the cup cars so BV and AJ can get more info and put AJ in the truck series, maybe even Brian so they can understand more about the toyota camrys, even if they dont run the same packages in all the series
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