Side By Side
Tomorrow will mark the first race of the year where both Red Bull cars will line up on the starting grid next to each other. Brian qualified 17th and AJ 18th. This is also the best overall team qualifying effort of the year. Both Red Bull cars have not raced on track together since the first Michigan race back in June - so needless to say everyone is pumped!The green flag of the Busch race waves tonight at 7:16pm. Brian rolls off the grid 9th in the #10 for Braun Racing and AJ rolls off 18th in the #42 for Chip Ganassi Racing. Tune into ESPN2 to catch all the action!
posted by racing bull at 3:25 PM
52 Comments:
Great Job boyz! Keep the GREAT weekend going!
Good Luck tonight and tomorrow!
WE BELIEVE!!!
Good luck tonight boys! We are all cheering for you guys!!!
AWESOME JOB TO BOTH TEAMS. GOOD LUCK IN THE RACE
Have the photographers on their toes tomorrow night at the start. I'll be looking for a nice desktop wallpaper of the 83 and 84 taking the green flag together!
Wow! Definitly some hard racing. Did Yeley's spotter not warn him that AJ was there! Hopefully Brad Kez is okay. They were carrying to the ambulance on a stretcher.
looking for Brian to kick some butt tonight and tomorrow night! yeehaw!
Great night so far for Brian!! Keep drivin those wheels off!! Hate to see AJ out. He was having a good run there.
Can you believe the coverage ESPN2 has given Brian tonight? Win or not it is nice to see them cover him for a change!
Brian had such a good car and got caught up in someone’s mess! I wish he wouldn't have taken that last pit stop. He could have been in front of the wreck and could have had a top 3 finish.
I can't believe the luck that we had tonight! Two great racecars taken out by no fault of our own. Good practice for tomorrow though, lets get top tens for both Red Bulls!
Hopefully we are seeing the same coverage of Brian tomorrow night. I hate this for him and the 10 team. They had been having a great night, and got caught up in Matt's problems. At least Matt took blame for the wreck. Glad he is okay! Good luck tomorrow boys.
WE BELIEVE!
Ahhhh. Such a good run tonight..at least Brian learned a bit for tomorrow night. Drive that Bull into victory lane Brian!!
Glad AJ's ok after a whale of a wreck! Hope we got the wrecks out early this week and can make it count tomorrow!
Better luck tomorrow Brian! Use those "secrets" to blow 'em away!!
We're all proud of you guyz!
WE BELIEVE!!!
personally I cant beleive they actually interviewed him after he was taken out...they never do that..
Were we watching the same race? I love BV and AJ but looked like AJ got loose and Yeley just had nowhere to go. It's definitely just a racing thing but I wouldn't blame Yeley's spotter. Hopefully the guys will finish as well as they'll run tonight!
We got the bad luck out last night. Lets get a good pic of the row full of bulls tonite! Good luck tonite TRB!
Read the Blaney message board. They do not like BV driving the 10 Bush car and love it when he doesn't do well.
Hopefully Brian learned something last night so that it will help him get a good finish tonight!
Go TRB!!!
Good luck tonight, boys! Stay cool!
Well, I'm glad Brian is driving the 10 car. Sorry Blaney fans! I have missing seeing Brian race in the Busch Series.
Good luck tonight AJ and Brian. Would be great to see one of them in VL tonight.
Both drivers look confident and ready to race at California. Good luck boys! We are all cheering you on.
I'm listening to both of their radios and they are having carb. problems, each time they turn right their cars die, thats why BV stalled. Not sure why, but even when "holding it at 8 grand" BV said it still dies, and AJ is saying the same.
Brian is 4th on Lap 88 of 250.
AJ is having the best run of his career tonight. Looks like his busch time paid off. During this last caution on 185 he felt a flat so he came in to change it. Too bad he fell from 14th but better than going flat in the race.
Wahoo, 2 cars in the top 20, 8th and 18th I believe. Let's hope we get 2 cars in next week. Career best for AJ, good job 83 and 84.
Great job TRB!!! Hopefully you all have tommorow off! Fantastic job!
2 cars in the top 20
Here you go folks...
Great day for all Red Bull Teams. Brian delivered in a big way. By doing so, the chances for getting in the top 35 have drastically improved. In 33rd place is the #70 team, which has 1920 points. In 34th place is the #45 team, which also has 1920 points. The new 35th place team is the #21 with 1868 points. The #22 team slipped to 36th, and has 1864 points. The #10 team stands at 37th with 1669 points. Finally, the #83 is in 38th with 1620 points. This means that the #83 is 248 points back from the 35th spot, and 300 back from 33rd. With all of these intermediate tracks next on the schedule, I am very, very hopeful that the #83 can get up there.
Congrats to AJ on a career high. Keep it up!
Congratulations to both Team Red Bull cars. Wow!!!! 8th & 18th!!! Fantastic finish to a long, hot race. Congratulations to everyone in the shop, the road crew, drivers, and the awesome guys on pit road!!!
Awesome job by both Brian and AJ!! Great night!! I'm so happy to see both RB cars in the top 20!! Congrats!!
Awesome job guys! Keep up the good work!
nathan,
Did you figure in the extra 5 points for leading laps? I was off your # by five and thought this might have been where I made my mistake.
Great Job TRB!!!!
The only thing I am worried about is that 6 of the next 11 races (and the next three) are COT races, where the #83 has tended to struggle (missing Bristol and some others). We really, really need some good COT performances from the #83. The #84 has done much better in COT qualifying.
I got the numbers from owners points plus the race results from NASCAR.com, which does factor in points for laps led.
The #70, #45, and #83 all led laps.
Awesome job to both Team Red Bull teams. Great to see Brian leading and AJ getting a Top 20 finish. Running the Busch race definitly helped him a lot. Looking foward to next week at Richmond. Way to go boys! We are all so proud of you both.
AWESOME NIGHT GUYS!!! WE'RE ALL SO PROUD!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
WE BELIEVE!!!
I forgot to add that once again Nathan rocks! You think he'll be in the Top 35 by Talladega, or is that wishful thinking on my part?
Great Job tonight by both Brian & AJ. It sure was fun watching them race tonight.
Kristin,
Not very likely for the #83 to be in the top 35 by Talledega. Brian would need to have top 15 runs at Richmond, New Hampshire, and Dover, which, as someone else mentioned, isn't a sure bet due to the prior performance of the #83 team at Car of Tomorrow races this year.
Here's the scenerio I see, most likely. They make Richmond this time through, and stay on the lead lap...traditionally, if you can do that, you'll have a top 15 finish (This year, it would have been a top 20). At that race earlier this year, the #45 team scored a 25th place finish, the #70 team scored a 36th place finish, the #22 finished 11th, the #21 didn't make the show, and the #10 team had a 30th place finish. Therefore, if he can just make the race and stay on the lead lap at Richmond, he'll make ground up on most of the people he is chasing. (Likely, gain of 25-35 on the #45 and #70 teams)
Next is New Hampshire, another race he missed earlier this season. Again, the main thing is getting in the show. All the teams aformentioned finished 29th place or worse, except the #70 team (finished 14th). So, if he can just get in the race and finish, he can keep pace, which is critical here. (Likely, no gain or little gain, 0-15 points over the #45 and #70).
After that is Dover, where Vickers has traditionally been strong. He made the race earlier this year and finished 2 laps down in 19th place. A lead lap finish again normally gives you a top 15 (would have been 13th place this year). Since all of the people he is chasing finished 32nd or worse in the race, if he can replicate his result, he'd make up between 35-45 points on them.
Kansas is next, the first time on the schedule this year. It's a non COT race, and a 1 1/2 mile trioval clone, similar to Charlotte. I'd expect big things. (50-85 point gain).
After these four races is yet another COT race, Talledega. If BV gets in, he's got a chance to win. He missed Talledega earlier this year. This is the one I am most worried about him missing. Since the people he is chasing usually suck at restrictor plate tracks, he could make up a lot of ground with a top 5, top 10 finish. He was running near the front at the Pepsi 400 with no drafting help, but the car wouldn't handle well and he faded towards the end. Handling isn't as big of a concern at Dega. If he makes the race, a 70-100 point gain on his competition isn't out of the question.
So, if you've read this far (God bless you), after the next 5 races I would expect, if he makes all four, for the #83 team to gain 180-280 points on the #45, #70, and #21/22. I think he'll have long leapfrogged the #10 at that point.
If that is the case, he'd have to make up between 120-20 points in the final 6 races, which include Lowes, Atlanta, Texas, and Homestead, tracks which should be really good for the #83 team. The other ones I worry about are Martinsville and Phoenix. The #83 team missed both earlier this year.
In closing, if they can keep up this kind of performance on non COT tracks, and just qualify for COT races, then I think they will be in the top 35 after Texas. If they miss a race here and there, Homestead will determine it. However, I do think missing two races will take them out of it. That's a lot of ground to make up.
Let’s give props to Crew Chief Doug Richert! Great Calls! He is the calming factor when things are not looking up. The #83 team is lucky to have his experience to lead the charge!
Good Job guys!
Hey Nathan, isn't New Hamsphire where BV made the race but then was found too low in post-qualifying inspection so he was sent home or was that a different race?
krystal, New Hampshire is the race that he was sent home for being too low in post-qual.
Wow! Nathan, you are awesome. Thank you for doing all that hard work. Guess, I'm going to be praying a lot. Talldega isn't the same without Brian. And the coolest thing about this year, he is on the ticket! WooHoo! Definitly a keepsake for me. Everyone that read what Nathan wrote, don't get discouraged, keep your head and and keep the faith.
WE BELIEVE IN TEAM RED BULL!!!
WOW, Nathan- thanks for that!
Is it too much to hope that Brian GETS IN the race this weekend, and that the 22 and the 10 don't make it, and that the 21 and 70 have serious problems? LOL
WAY TO GO TRB last night! I'm hoping that we will look back on this race as the turning point for all of TRB.
Just finished reading Brian's post race report, and thought I'd share that he is going to be on Inside Nextel Cup this evening!
Nick pwns. thanks for sharing that. you made a lot of point. BV missed Richmond, but AJ didn't. I think it was due to a bad qualifying draw if I remember correctly. I believe in BV. I know he can do it. after all the things the 83 team has been through, I know they're strong enough to accomplish their goals for 2007.
83 FTW. good luck this week TRB. great performance by BOTH cars at California. I'm really stoked about AJ's performance. he was ballin' out there. =)
Those asking about the 5 points to get into the top 35 - Owners Points are not affected by bonus points (leading a lap and leading the most laps).
The only problem I see with Nathan's analysis is that Talladega is a COT event, so any and all assumptions based on previous restrictor plate races can be basically junked, as no one knows how the COT and these drivers will react in a superspeedway event.
Ryan,
Owner points are the same as driver points for each race that the driver makes, as long as they are on the grid. Thus, owner points also factor in bonuses for laps led, most laps led, etc. The only difference between the two is that owners get points for passing inspection and making a qualifying attempt, and drivers do not.
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2007/data/standings_owner.html
This has a short description of how owner points are calculated. Compare the owners and drivers points for teams that have made all the races (I.E. Gordon) and you'll see that they are congruent.
You've got a good point about Talledega. We'll have to see what happens.
I caught Brian on Inside Nextel Cup last night and again this morning. Not knowing him I must say that he comes across very knowledgeable about the sport but on top of that very well spoken. I know he is young and has raced in the cup series for the past four years and Bush before that. Does anyone know if he went to college and if so where? My son races and I have told him that college is first regardless. It would be nice to have roll models that are not only talented but educated as well. It seems that Brian possibly fits the bill.
Also it souded like he and his teammate do not commutate? Dave and Michael knew more about AJ’s Bush ride than Brian did. Any thoughts?
Anon,
I remember an interview back in 2003 where Brian explained that he felt college wouldn't be possible with his career as a driver, as it would be too time consuming, but his back-up plan was always to go to college as a business or engineering major and and be involved in racing to some degree. So, to answer your question, no, he does not have a college degree. I think he has had private tutoring in some subjects, however. I know Hendrick and a few other organizations have teachers for PR and interview training. However, few drivers do have bachelors degrees. Erin Crocker, Ryan Newman, Brett Bodine, and Alan Kulwicki are the only drivers I can think of that are college graduates.
However, many schools in the Charlotte area have degrees in motorsports management and motorsports engineering. If he wants to pursue the sport in that capacity, there are numerous opportunities. Belmont Abbey has a good program.
Folks, keep in mind that BV is LOCKED IN at Talladega due to his win there last year in the 25. He will have a pass if he needs it.
Unless that rule changed this year Nathan, you are wrong. Not only have I been following NASCAR for the past 20 years, but I also work on a touring NASCAR race car, so I do know what I am mumbling about. Never before have I seen the Owners Points calculated with lap points added in. Then again, with all of the changes that have taken place to points in the past few seasons, it wouldn't surprise me if that change was made.
Ryan,
I'm not sure if bonus points for drivers are not incorporated into owners points for every NASCAR series, but as far as I have been able to research back (1996) the owner's points and driver's points are the same for drivers and teams that made every race in the NEXTEL cup series, non-withstanding a penalty that only affected the driver or the owner. Compare the points on these pages and you'll see what I'm talking about: 1996 Driver's Points, 1996 Owner's Points: 1999 Driver's Points, 1999 Owner's Points: 2002 Driver's Points, 2002 Owner's Points: 2005 Driver's Points, 2005 Owner's Points. In each comparison, the bonus points for the driver was also awarded in owner's points. I've never seen a rule from NASCAR that clearly says that the bonus points are or are not calculated in, I've only seen from websites (like NASCAR's) that incorporate them. If you can find a link supporting the rule you are talking about, send it to me. I do scoring models and I want to make sure they are accurate. Thanks.
Post a Comment
<< Home