Friday, June 29, 2007

Ivies, Ice and Pit Road

We’re always hearing requests for more pit crew stuff, so here’s a little something to wet your whistle. Our very own No. 83 jackman, Shaun Peet, just got a little bit of star play in the Philadelphia Daily News. For those of you who don’t know Shaun’s history, he not only played hockey at Dartmouth, but also played in the minor leagues for seven teams. Bet you also didn’t know that Shaun had quite a few cameos in the movie, “Talladega Knights” as Will Ferrell, err Ricky Bobby’s, jackman. How did Shaun go from the ice to the pits? Find out in this article:

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/sports/20070628_From_Ivies_to_ice__and_then_to_pit_road.html

Thursday, June 28, 2007

First Day of School


This new life that AJ Allmendinger leads all started last fall at New Hampshire. It was there that AJ, thinking NASCAR racing might further his career, strapped into a Craftsman Truck for Bill Davis Racing.
At first, he was wicked bad (that’s how they talk in New England), crashing his primary truck and starting 32nd. Then, he was wicked good, finishing 13th. In truck start No. 2, he ran fifth at Talladega, and doubters suddenly became believers. It turned out to be quite the career decision, because AJ did indeed make it to Nextel Cup with Red Bull Racing.
His teammate, Brian Vickers, has a few stories of his own that originate in New Hampshire. In the No. 25, BV stole a pole (June, 2005) and barely missed winning the September race last season, ending up fifth.
P.S.:
On the cartoon — Why is there a lobster driving our race car? Chalk it up to the big lobsterfest in Loudon every year.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Velocity Lab in Session


Matthew Marchiando always had a thing for suspension and setups. He chose the part of the Car of Tomorrow that he wanted to perfect (his online application read "specifically how the front splitter limits front-end travel"), and through the inaugural Red Bull Velocity Lab internship, Red Bull Racing will provide the tools and techincal expertise to make that happen.

A 20-year old mechanical engineering student of the University of California-Davis, Marchiando will help make Red Bull's Toyotas go faster, with an eye ultimately on living the technical life in NASCAR. Matt beat out 113 other applicants for the position.

This week Matt begins work at our race shop in Mooresville. He is working with the vehicle dynamics engineers under the direction of Technical Director John Probst.

"It's pretty overwhelming being here," Marchiando said of Red Bull Racing, "but it's really a dream come true and it's where I want to be."

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

The Name's Smokstad


You know Brian has won in Nextel Cup. You know Doug Richert won race after race with the late Dale Earnhardt and, before his arrival at Red Bull Racing, Greg Biffle. You might not know, however, that there’s another winner on the No. 83, which is relevant considering New Hampshire is up next.
He’s tall, unassuming, super nice and knows a ton about race cars. Give up? It’s Craig Smokstad, the 83’s car chief who in the same role won round one at Loudon last season with Kyle Busch and the Hendrick folks.
Don’t believe us? Let Craig tell you all about it in our audio section at www.teamredbull.com. But figuring that you do take what we say to heart, Craig, also instrumental in BV's run to the 2003 Busch Series title, feels confident heading to the New England flat track that’s said to be Martinsville’s big brother. Craig’s mission this weekend, after a recent test at The Milwaukee Mile, is getting the 83 to roll through the center of the corner with enough momentum to where Brian can go drag racing down the 1,500-foot straightaways.
Git ’er done, Craig!

Monday, June 25, 2007

BLOG CORRECTION

“I’m number one – and don’t you forget it.” We had a disgruntled employee burst into the marketing trailer today a little upset at yesterday’s “Red Bull Jeopardy” blog. You see, Mike Good, Head of Facilities, feels he’s been overlooked. Our jeopardy answer had Marty Gaunt as the first employee hired, but Mike feels HE was the first employee hired – considering Marty hired him – first. Mike’s case was so strong, that we agreed to make our first ever correction to the blog. Congratulations Mike. You made history twice at Red Bull Racing.

Note from the Editor: In the June 24 “Red Bull Jeopardy” blog, we wrongly identified Marty Gaunt as the first employee hired at Red Bull Racing. We regret the error. Mike, please don’t remove the marketing trailer from the race shop grounds.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Red Bull ‘Jeopardy’


Give me Red Bull Racing for $100, Alex … (answers first, questions follow).
$100: This North Carolina town is known as “Race City U.S.A.” and also is the home of Red Bull Racing.
$200: AJ Allmendinger, the driver of the No. 84, left this type of open-wheel racing for greener pastures in NASCAR.
$300: The stock car division where Brian Vickers won rookie of the year in 2000, honed his driving skills and ultimately led him to Nextel Cup.
$400: The unsightly looking component that spans the rear deck lid on Red Bull Racing’s two Cars of Tomorrow.
$500: These quarter-sized “nuggets” are prematurely fastened with adhesive and help keep wheels attached to the car.
$600: The track where Red Bull Racing earned its first top-five finish, after Brian led an impressive 76 laps.
$700: The amount of fluid ounces in a slender can of Red Bull that reflects the car number on BV’s machine.
$800: This Englishman turned Canadian turned American was employee No. 1 at Red Bull Racing.
$900: Only this number of men is allowed over the wall to service the Red Bulls of AJ and Brian.
$1,000: As crew chief, he led the late Dale Earnhardt to the first of his seven NASCAR championships in 1980.

$100: What is Mooresville, N.C.?; $200: What is the Champ Car World Series? $300: What is the Hooters Pro Cup Series?; $400: What is a rear wing?; $500: What are lug nuts?; $600: What is Lowe’s Motor Speedway?; $700: What is 8.3?; $800: Who is Marty Gaunt?; $900: What is seven?; $1,000: Who is Doug Richert?

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Star Meets Star


No matter where he went or what he did, AJ couldn’t shake the spotlight at Infineon Raceway. He is, after all, the energetic and spirited driver of the No. 84. While Red Bull Racing couldn’t entertain its fans on Infineon’s road course, AJ gave his own show during “Trackside.”
Before qualifying, AJ’s presence was felt on the Speed TV stage. He danced for the crowd as loads of supportive AJ signs waved in the background. And AJ got to meet one of his favorite sports heroes — Jerry Rice, a “Trackside” guest and arguably the National Football League’s greatest receiver who won three rings with the San Francisco 49ers. AJ is from Los Gatos, Calif., which isn’t far from where Jerry played at old Candlestick Park.
We’re on to New Hampshire next weekend. AJ made his first NASCAR start there and finished 13th in last fall’s Craftsman Truck Series race.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Marketing Visits Alcatraz

The Marketing Department took a trip to jail yesterday. Yep, that’s right – a tour of Alcatraz in San Francisco, legendary prison and ex-home to some pretty famous convicts like Al “Scarface” Capone and the “Birdman” Robert Stroud. What we learned about “The Rock”:

No. of prisoners executed at Alcatraz = 0. Alcatraz had no facilities for capital punishment.
How long was Alcatraz “in business” = 28 years and 8 months
No. of prisoners that escaped from Alcatraz = 36. 23 caught, six killed, two drowned, five disappeared.
No. of years “Scarface” occupied Alcatraz = 4.5 years. During that time, he was stabbed by another inmate with a pair of hair cutting scissors. Needless to say, he wasn’t a favorite among other inmates.

The day ended with a profound statement by one marketing guy, “Man, it would have sucked to be in that place.” We’ll leave you to think about that one…

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Cali Homecoming

Today AJ, along with Kyle Petty and fellow rookie David Ragan, participated in a Press Luncheon arranged by our friends over at Infineon Raceway. McCormick and Kuleto's Restaurant in Ghirardelli Square hosted the event. It was a great place for the presser because it came complete with view of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. Not a bad way to spend a beautiful afternoon in San Francisco! Not surprisingly, most of the media's attention was focused on AJ - on topics such as qualifying this weekend, his road racing background, and his California roots (AJ hails from Los Gatos, CA). And of course one person did ask manage to ask him how he planned to "bring sexy back" to NASCAR, as AJ is fond of telling people. His response? "My oozing good looks of course." Typical AJ!

Tune in to Trackside LIVE on the SPEED Channel Friday at 6:00 pm EST (3:00 pm PAC) to see AJ discuss these topics and more with the Trackside gang. Football great Jerry Rice, formerly of the San Francisco 49ers, is also scheduled as a guest.

Then, after Trackside, AJ and Brian will take on Infineon's 11 turns for Cup qualifying, airing on SPEED at 7:00 pm EST (4:00 pm PAC).

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Must Yield: AJ's Turning Right


Throughout his Champ Car days, AJ Allmendinger completed 3,473 laps of race competition, and almost all of them involved a right-hand turn somewhere along the line. He has driven stock cars ever since, and not once in 2,641 laps has anyone around the rookie pondered turning any direction but left.
Cue the Toyota Save Mart 350, which is Nextel Cup’s first road-course event of 2007 and, ultimately, AJ’s first chance to show the NASCAR crowd what kind of road racer he really is. He must contend with Infineon Raceway’s 11 turns — seven of which can be classified as right-handers.
The pressure is on. Naturally, more is expected of a guy who graduated with a degree in road racing, but Infineon isn’t far from AJ’s suburban San Jose hometown of Los Gatos. This weekend, he’s the hometown hero trying to do good.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Buschwhackin'

Vickers is going Buschwhackin'! ("Buschwhacker is a nickname for Cup drivers who also compete in the Busch Series). Vickers will keep it in the Toyota family by piloting the No. 32 Braun Racing Camry at Daytona International Speedway and Lowe's Motor Speedway. New teammates - Jason Leffler and Cup regular Dave Blaney. With such a limited Busch schedule, Vickers has one focus, “I’m not racing for points – just wins!” Vickers has some pretty impressive Busch stats. In 2003 he took home the Busch Series Championship in his first full season of competition, becoming NASCAR’s youngest-ever champion at 20 years of age. In just 73 series starts, Vickers captured three wins, 16 top-fives and 28 top-10 finishes. Watch out Busch regulars - Vickers will be a force to be reckoned with.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Inside NASCAR's Hot Topics

Vickers, Waltrip and Biffle popped into the Inside Nextel Cup studio today to debate NASCAR's latest hot topics. Here’s the hot topics the Cup stars were weighing in on…

- Hot, Hot, Hot: Sweating it out at Michigan
- Lawsuit: AT&T vs NASCAR
- Edwards Wins...and his motor home driver finally gets to shave his beard
- Who's fault? #66 hits #12 causing multi-car wreck and collecting Vickers
- Hashing it out: Michigan wrecks, recaps, and runs
- Should lapped cars be allowed to restart up by the leaders?

Catch the guys tonight at 8PM (EST) on SPEED.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

F1 vs. NASCAR


As AJ and BV began a long day at Michigan, our friends at Red Bull Formula One wrapped up their swing through North America, as the United States Grand Prix was run on the hallowed grounds of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Despite all the caviar, culture and visits to exotic venues, F1 lags far behind NASCAR when it comes to captivating the American audience.
Here are 10 reasons why F1’s got nothing on NASCAR.
1. Real racers race every weekend. F1 races, what, 17 times in 2007? Weak! Try 38 times.
2. Unlike F1, NASCAR drivers can make up for an ill-handling car. If you ain’t in a Ferrari or McLaren, you got no shot.
3. We have cool terms like dirty air and Darlington stripe. What’s F1 got? A shunt?
4. F1’s high-end hospitality pales in comparison to a Martinsville hot dog or a Talladega turkey leg. And man, those pink dogs, with a little chili on top, are tasty.
5. NASCAR is a contact sport. After all, rubbin’ is racin’.
6. You have Bernie. We have Brian — France, that is. The Frances are gods around these parts.
7. F1 has the Concorde Agreement. NASCAR has gentleman’s agreements.
8. NASCAR lets its fans mill around in the garage and interact with drivers and crews. F1’s top-secret technology is on lockdown. What’s the point of having it if you can’t flaunt it?
9. Does F1 have fat, sweaty, beer-gutted race fans that pitch tents and live in squalor day after day just to see a race in the middle of nowhere? So dedicated are these folks that they’d rather die than miss 500 miles of entertainment.
10. Monaco is one cool circuit. But Watkins Glen … well, score one for F1.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Still Truckin'

This afternoon AJ will again race the 00 Red Bull Tundra for Darrell Waltrip Motor-sports. He will be piloting the same truck that he drove to a 2nd place finish and led 7 laps with at Lowe's Motor Speedway a few weeks back. The crew fondly refers to this specific truck as "Nikki" and they have high expectations for her.
So far this season, AJ has 2 top-10 finishes and has started in the top-15 4 times. Truck qualifying starts at 11:15 am this morning. AJ rolls out 37th.

Tune into SPEED at 3:00 pm EST to see AJ race Nikki around MIS!

Friday, June 15, 2007

Top of the Chart!

Vickers was holding steady at the top of the speed charts in Cup practice at MIS, but just before the session ended Truex Jr and the elder Busch knocked BV into 3rd. But hey, who’s complaining about holding down the #1 spot for at least part of practice? Allmendinger ended the session in 23rd - 5th of the “go-or-go-homers.” Next up: qualifying at 3:10 pm (EST). We’ve been hearing cries for more race specific news, so ask and (sometimes) you shall receive. Our http://www.teamredbull.com/ website has always been the destination for race-specific news and stats, but we’ll humor you this once. Next time – check the team website. Here’s some Vickers MIS fast facts for the stat geek in you…

In four races at MIS:
Average start = 11th
Average mid-race = 27th
Average finish = 20.5
No. of green flag passes = 215
No. of laps in the top 15 = 192
Laps led = 7

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Twin Tracks, Sister Speedways


Michigan International Speedway easily could be mistaken for California Speedway. Place the two Nextel Cup sister tracks side by side, and they’re about as identifiable as the Olsen twins.
Red Bull Racing’s first statistic of note came at California when Brian Vickers drove the No. 83 to a 10th-place finish in February’s Auto Club 500. That was the team’s first race ever, so there’s a reason Red Bull Racing is sticking its chest out a bit entering this weekend. Most of what was discovered at California can be applied to Michigan, not to mention Brian has four top-10 starts and two top-10 finishes there.
Slowly, Red Bull Racing is on the rise. AJ Allmendinger’s No. 84 has made five races in a row and, after Pocono, climbed one spot in the owner standings to 46th. Brian has competed in four-straight events, and the No. 83 sits 38th — only 165 points short of the elusive top-35 cutoff that guarantees a spot in the race.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Testing....and More Testing!

This week is a busy one for the Red Bull Racing road crews. The #83 and #84 teams have a 2 day test ahead of them before heading to Michigan on Thursday for the race weekend.

The team plane left this morning at 6:00 am to take everyone to Virginia International Raceway (VIR). AJ and BV are ready to test their road course cars in preparation for the first road race of the year at Infineon Raceway June 24. AJ has been looking forward to this race all season. He is most excited about being about to turn right again. He said that his experiences turning right so far on oval tracks hasn't been so great... because turning right on an oval means you are headed towards the wall!

After today's testing session, the plane will fly the guys from VIR to Milwaukee, where they will test the COT tomorrow in preparation for the New Hampshire race July 1. Then tomorrow evening it's off to Michigan to get some rest before the race weekend officially begins Friday morning.

Good luck guys - this is where all the hard work starts to pay off!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Pit Crew Carnival

The Red Bull Racing pit crew hosted a "team-lunch-turned-carnival" for the entire shop (that's 150+ hungry people!) today at the “5 On 5 Off” pit crew school. There were guys grilling burgers and dogs, guys volunteering themselves in the dunk tank, guys racing each other through an obstacle course, and guys beating on each other with overgrown boxing gloves in a blow up rink (boys will be boys…but we did catch some girls jumping in on the action!). The jury is still out on whether the highlight of the carnival was seeing people race to the front of the line to try to dunk Competition Director Elton Sawyer or the actual moment he went down in the dunk tank. AJ was first in line (see pic) for that one – but wasn’t the one to get the ultimate dunk. A big thanks to the pit crew and their lovely wives that helped out!

Monday, June 11, 2007

Pocono Traffic Report

1: minivan – bump and run
1: driver that got lost trying to find the airport
0: speeding tickets

A police escort last night to the Wilkes-Barre airport had fans departing the track wondering if the Cup teams 100-car deep escort only added to more chaos and traffic jams around the track. What can we say? No trip is short of an adventure when you throw Red Bull Racing into the mix. After miles of an SUV trying to stick its nose in and one feisty female driver making sure that didn’t happen, the window of the SUV rolled down – only to have Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus behind the wheel! Apologies were exchanged and Chad was let in…but not before he took down several orange traffic cones. Knaus dragged the cone for miles, so it was only fitting we got a picture for the blog (see cone near right rear tire). Excuse the blurriness – taking pictures during a high speed chase through Pocono mountain roads is not an easy task!

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Sniffing the Second Half


Nextel Cup vacations at Pocono Raceway one more time this summer, but NASCAR’s second honeymoon here — the Pocono Mountains are the destination for many newly married couples — doesn’t come until early August. We go to Michigan next, then winery hopping in Sonoma before a lesson in revolutionary history in New Hampshire.
After that comes Daytona, which was the start of our long, strange trip. Daytona marks Red Bull Racing’s second trip to some of America’s greatest speedways. We’ve been — or will have been — to these places once in 2007: Pocono, Bristol, California, Richmond, New Hampshire, Dover, Talladega, Charlotte, Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas and Phoenix.
That’ll be 12 tracks, after July’s 400-miler at Daytona, where we get to use our own notes, past experiences and dos and don’ts. That’s why the upcoming races at Michigan and New Hampshire are so critical. What we learn there can be applied to a hard charge into the top 35.
Brian’s 83 is beginning to reel in that elusive cutoff in the car owner standings. And just imagine what AJ, who’s made five races in a row, can do when he tackles a track for the second time.
Indeed, the dog days of summer count just as much as the glory of Daytona.

Saturday, June 09, 2007

Resort Livin'

From the outside, most people see the NASCAR life as glamorous. And sometimes it can be. But for the most part it consists of long days at the race track, a ton of traveling, most nights spent at hotels, and a lot of hard work. But for those of us who choose to work in the sport - we love it. Weekends like this one make it even better, though. We are staying at Split Rock Resort on Lake Harmony, which is only 7 miles from Pocono Raceway. Amid the scenery and wildlife, you almost forget how close you are to the track. You can see why this is such a popular honeymoon destination. There are deer everywhere - and you have to be careful driving down the windy roads not to hit one! Two people from the team have even seen a bear cub.

Today when the Cup garage closes at 2:00 pm, the team will get to take advantage of a rare free afternoon and enjoy the outdoors. Of course the fact that both Red Bull cars are in tomorrow's race makes it all the more enjoyable!

Friday, June 08, 2007

Bringing It Home on the Roval

Sharp turns + long straight-aways + a tricky tunnel turn = one tough shot at making the grid for Sunday’s Pocono 500…but not too tough for the Red Bull Racing duo. Two in the show! AJ took to the “roval” (so nicknamed because it’s part road course and part oval) claiming the 28th spot on the grid. Vickers came home in 9th – holding on to an impressive record of starting in the top 10 in each of his 7 races at Pocono. Vickers has proved he can race the wheels of a car at Pocono, but could this be “Dinger’s” weekend to take a trip to Victory Lane? Industry insiders say this track isn’t kind to first-timers, but last year rookie Denny Hamlin swept both Pocono races – proving all nay-sayers wrong. Tune in to ABC on Sunday to catch the race and you’re tuning in to the wrong channel. TNT is taking the reins of the NASCAR broadcast from Pocono through Chicago.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Brian Knows His Shapes

Pocono, though flat, is not slow. Pocono, a healthy 2.5 miles in length, is not a track where you just floor it and go. And Pocono, where shifting was once required, is known to make engines blow. So mysterious is the Pocono Triangle that some stock cars enter and are never heard from again. Pocono Raceway, a triangle-shaped track nestled in the mountains of eastern Pennsylvania, can cause splitting headaches for anyone involved in making a Nextel Cup car go fast. It has three distinct turns, the longest straightaway in NASCAR and a short chute. Gaining speed in one corner means critical tenths are lost in another. But Brian Vickers, Red Bull Racing’s driver of the No. 83, discovered the elusive balance. For a 23-year-old in his fourth season in Nextel Cup, BV’s stats at Pocono are shiny. In six starts, Brian has never rolled off outside the top 10, nor has he finished worse than 14th. His average start is 4.5; his average finish 8.5. In this race two Junes ago driving the No. 25 Chevrolet, Brian finished second and led a race-high 121 laps. Pocono also plays into the skill set of No. 84 driver AJ Allmendinger, who, as a road racer by trade, is used to navigating unique corners.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Lowdown On The Low Car


A car from Red Bull Racing’s overcrowded parking area was found to be “too low” during a random inspection Tuesday afternoon. Don’t sweat it, though. No points were taken away in the owner standings.
We just wanted to find out who drives that low-to-the-ground, soft-red Mazda Miata that snuggles tightly underneath the car-carrying transporter out back. While most team employees are jockeying for a parking spot as hard as Brian and AJ do for position, Drew Nabb — an engineer here — has found a home for his ride.
From a distance, Drew’s car appears to be some type of full-bodied go-kart. A closer look reveals that Drew’s Miata — with plates reading “AUTO X” — has a one-inch clearance under the transporter. The space underneath only accommodates 44.5 inches, so you do the math.
“Parking is so tight around here,” Drew said, “that spot is always guaranteed.”
Thanks, Drew, for raising awareness on conservative parking. If only we could all get the gas mileage of a Miata.

Monday, June 04, 2007

Raining Cats & Dogs

Gray skies yesterday brought out the weather man in us all guessing and watching the radar to see if we were going racing, but mid-day rain gave a preview of what was to come. The skies opened up and poured down on Dover International Speedway until 1:52 PM when a small break in the rain was enough to tease the jet driers into coming out onto the track. That was short lived – the rains came down again and never let up. The race was called at 2:15 PM, just after the teams were told to bring their cars to the garages from pit road. AJ and Brian went up to the Red Bull merchandise trailer to sign autographs for the loyal fans still milling around in the rain. Those watching would have questioned who was having more fun – AJ and Brian picking on each other – or the fans getting entertained from out in the rain! Dover’s postponement is the third race rescheduled so far this year – Richmond and Darlington were also rescheduled due to rain. The Autism Speaks 400 starts at Noon (EST) today on Fox. Tune in…

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Pit Sharing

One of the unique things about Dover International Speedway is that it only has 42 pit stalls. That poses a bit of a problem when a Nextel Cup field consists of 43 cars! Since the #84 car has to start at the back of the field in the provisional spot in 43rd, we will have to start off the race sharing a pit with the #70, which will start 42nd.

The two crew chiefs Ricky and Booty have agreed that whichever car is higher in the field can pit first. Hopefully that will be the #84. But in the case that Johnny Sauter is in front of AJ, we will have to wait on the #70 car to pit before we can. We will use our pit crew, but the #70's equipment. As soon as the first car drops out of the race, the #84 will take over that pit. So for the beginning of the race, the #84 pit box will sit at the end of pit road, ready for the pit crew guys to push it as soon as the first pit opens up.

The only other track where cars have to share pit stalls is Watkins Glen.

Tune in this afternoon to see the Bull on track in the "Autism Speaks 400". The green flag flies at 1:40 pm EST.

Truckin'...

After avoiding a 7-truck wreck on lap 1, and another wreck on lap 12, AJ commented that “this race is like SIM racing. Yellow’s come out every lap!” After he was finally able to get into a groove, AJ started driving the truck through the field. Crew chief Jason decided to use a different pit strategy than some of the other trucks on the lead lap and pitted during the lap 37 caution, making an air pressure and wedge adjustment and taking 4 tires and fuel.

After working his way up to the 9th position, a green flag pit stop on lap 127 proved costly when the yellow flag waved shortly after. AJ restarted at the front of the field in front of leader Ron Hornaday, Jr. in the 33 truck, which delegated him to the tail end of the lead lap. The team was hoping for a caution to fall so they could restart behind the leaders and start working through the field again. Unfortunately, the much-needed caution never fell. Despite fighting a very loose condition the rest of the race, AJ was able to keep the 00 truck in front of the 33 truck until the end of the race, laying down lap times faster than the leader for most of the last 50 laps. AJ ended up in the 9th position – a solid day for the 00 truck.

Friday, June 01, 2007

The Dover Coaster

The Dover roller coaster tried to take Red Bull Racing for a loop in today’s Cup qualifying, but the coaster couldn’t derail our COT's. Vickers lapped the track at 150.22 mph (24th), and Allmendinger at 149.67 mph lap (28th) - earning both drivers a spot in the show! Unfortunately, NASCAR rules state AJ will have to start from the 43rd spot. AJ was the 8th of the "go or go home" cars, which is a spot reserved for the provisional, or past champion. Bill Elliott didn't need the provisional, so that bumps AJ into the provisional spot. All these rules! The Bulls hit the track tomorrow for two rounds of practice in preparation for Sunday’s 400-mile race. The drivers say racing 400-miles at this track actually feels like racing 600-miles, but to BV, that’s a piece of cake. He drove 600-miles last weekend with no power steering, so to The Monster Mile, “Bring it on!” Expect good racing on Sunday at 1 PM (EST) on FOX because these stock cars are barreling down a multi-groove track, running high, low, or middle – just about anywhere they please.