Double Ouch!
Brian Vickers’ day came to a crawling halt. Mike Skinner’s never got going.
The No. 83 qualified 40th for the Goody’s 500 at Martinsville Speedway, but 500 laps allowed for plenty of scenarios to play out and Vickers — thanks to pit strategy — found himself running second before the lap-400 mark. Red Bull Racing Team’s second top 10 of the season was within reach, that was until the gas tank ran dry in the closing laps.
He and the Bull Crew had been entertaining hopes of a sudden rain shower so fuel never became an issue. No dice. Vickers was forced to pit under green and ended up three laps down in 23rd.
The No. 83 remained 18th in owner points, but Vickers slipped a spot in the driver standings to 18th. “It’s just really disappointing because I know we had a top-20 finish for the second-straight race and had something take us out of the running at the end,” he said.
Skinner, in the No. 84, salvaged a 31st-place finish even though he got the worst of racing side by side with Robby Gordon. Not long after, at lap 105, the spinning car of Sam Hornish Jr. sucked Skinner in. “I just tried to stay out of the way of the leaders (the rest of the race),” Skinner said.
On to Texas.
Saturday’s news: Scott Speed finished 10th after starting 17th in the Kroger 250 — only his second Craftsman Truck start in Morgan-Dollar Motorsports’ No. 46. Now it’s back to ARCA and the April 13 race in Salem, Ind.
posted by Bull Rider at 7:19 PM
18 Comments:
So much for AJ getting seat time....Speed racing a truck and AJ watching from the sideline. What a joke.
I was in Martinsville today and it was VERY VERY COLD and WET. Even in multi layers I was still shivering and numb, it was near 37 degrees toward the end of the race. I listened to Brian on the scanner for the day, he was really PISSED at Patrick Carpentier. BV was running top 10 and Carpentier who was a lap down was racing him extremley hard....Vickers told his spotter to tell the #10 if he kept forcing the issue like he was doing, "his ass is going to be in the fence." The car was struggling off the turns all day, you could see it off of turn #2. Another solid run, the results just don't show it.
There was no Red Bull merchandise trailer at Martinsville....what gives? I didn't see the energy station either.....anyone know why??
Nick thank you for your post. I had tickets for this race and was coming up from Florida but decided not to because of the weather. When BV qualified 40th I thought why bother. Then when he was in the top 10 and then running 2nd I thought I had made the wrong decision. After what happened with the fuel and now your post, I’m glad I let these tickets go.
On to Texas!!!
The funny thing about gambling is that you have to start with the realization that you have already lost.
To keep thing in focus, it was a great day for the 83 team. This race showed once again what they are capable of.
It is going to be a challenge for the 84 team for a little while longer. It isn't easy getting the car to qualify, and then have to try and find a race set up that suits the car, track, and driver in just a few hours.
Keep working at it guys. The next few weeks should bring some good opportunities to iron out the kinks.
I'm still upset about the decision of removing AJ and replacing him with Skinner. Seriously, Mike hit about everything on the track in Martinsville. Give AJ his ride back!! He's doing great and will only get better with more seat time. Also, I wanted to buy some of AJ's merchandise but there was no trailer to be found. TRB, y'all have totally broken "my wings"! Hang in there AJ your fans love you and will support you always!!
Nick, they said at the begining of the year that they were not taking the hauler to every race and the Energy Station (which is not open to the public) only goes to a few races a year. Hopefully you got your fill of hotdogs instead.................................And for the whiners, AJ will be back after next week, let it go already!
AJ got 5th in his 2nd NASCAR Truck race ever! Hang in there AJ. We love you.
Time to quit making AJ the scapegoat and fix the real problems on the 84 team. AJ qualified for both Bristol and Martinsville last year with finishes comparable to Mike considering he had never made a Cup start prior to that. Time to get him back to driving and get him the help he needs on that team.
We are with you all the way AJ. Don't give up. With the information that you are getting from Mike, it will help the whole team and when (and I say when not if) you get back in the car, it will help you in the long run. Its a shame, though, that Red Bull has given Speed the tools to learn more about Nascar racing and not you. You deserve more than that as a great race car driver. NEVER EVER GIVE UP! We have lots of faith in you. And, don't listen to people that comment on this board that say you are finished...you are NOT finished. Hang in there!
best scanner chatter in many races from the 83 car, my favorite highlights were Brian saying he was going to put the 10 car into the wall if he didn't get the f*** out of the way. I also liked when Brian screamed Mother F***** at the end of the race when he ran out of gas.. Great run, rough finish, next time plan for going all 500 laps.
BV is Da Man, AJ you are done. Bring on Scott Speed
BV and the 83 team you guys had a great race, the strategy fell a little short but the car raced well all day.
My take on the AJ situation, I may be just speculating but it seems to me that the problem with AJ was not his driving but the communication about setup changes. I think if it was the driving RBRT was worried about he would be in another ride in one of the lower series' but they want AJ to listen to how Mike communicates with the team and learn from that.
March 31 - Atlanta, Bristol, Martinsville
a new video is scheduled to be released today. i noticed the Daytona 500 video has been removed.
Bye Bye AJ
Listen, I'm as big of a TRB fan as there is, but myself and everyone else here needs to realize that the 84 is in trouble, again this year. I don't mind the comments section on this blog, but at times you people look at things through "Red Bull colored glasses."
There are pros and cons to AJ being taken out of the 84 ride, and no one, NO ONE can deny that Mike Skinner is now 3 for 3 making the races in the 84 car. 35th in owner points is sitting with about 435 points while the 84 car has about 280 points.
When the 84 makes the show, it has to run better than 30th or worse. It's the only way to make the top 35. Whether it's a new driver, whether it's a new crew chief, whether it's anything, something has to change with the team. We have to figure out, as fans, who we're supporting, Team Red Bull or AJ, because I'm supporting the 84 in all their decisions and am for any moves that involve moving forward. I hope AJ gets back in, and I hope he races well and I hope that the 84 can compete on a weekly basis, but if he gets back in at Phoenix and misses the show or makes the race and runs around 3 laps down in 33rd, that doesn't help anything.
Brian, good luck this weekend at Texas. Keep the tank full and drive like there's no tomorrow....Red Bull could get a win at this track!!!
Mike, good luck on moving the 84 up in points before AJ gets back in the seat! Thanks for helping out.
Red Bull has been getting lots of talk....keep up the good work and lets get a win and really get the talk going.
WE BELIEVE
Brian is pulling double duty this week. a win is highly possible in both Cup and NNS. I'm looking forward.
I just heard the news that AJ will be back in the car for 'Dega! I was getting kinda anxious for him to get back in the car, and made this .gif. Hope you enjoy :)
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/Korolyeva525/NASCAR/TibetFlag.jpg
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