Red Bull making strides for future, seeing results now

DOVER, Del. -- Blame it on the paint scheme change from blue to silver. But more likely it was the five-race hiatus he spent watching from atop the pit box while Mike Skinner drove his car.

Either way, it's changed A.J. Allmendinger's approach, and even more so it's improved Red Bull Racing overall as an organization.

Autostock

A.J. Allmendinger

Best Buy 400

Lineup

Pos.	Driver	Speed	Time
1.	G. Biffle	155.219	23.193
2.	Ku. Busch	153.971	23.381
3.	Ky. Busch	153.767	23.412
4.	J. Johnson	153.754	23.414
5.	J. McMurray	153.597	23.438
6.	B. Vickers	153.413	23.466
7.	J. Gordon	153.368	23.473
8.	A.J. Allmendinger	152.912	23.543
9.	E. Sadler	152.873	23.549
10.	J. Mayfield	152.847	23.553

• Lineup | Videos | Photos

Allmendinger's victory in the Sprint Showdown three weeks ago may go down on paper as a turning point in the driver's Cup Series career, but his time away from the track earlier this season is what may have the lasting effect. After failing to qualify for the first three events, Mike Skinner replaced Allmendinger in the No. 84 Toyota for five races to evaluate where the program stood.

Consider that research project a success.

Once Allmendinger got back in the seat at Talladega, he placed his car fourth on the starting grid -- he had to qualify based on his speed due to not being locked inside the top 35 in owner points. He's made every race since with solid time trials, and the finishes have been better than expected, too.

Allmendinger crashed at Talladega and Richmond, and finished 30th and 39th, respectively, but at both tracks he led a lap. At Darlington he finished 27th. And then there was Charlotte.

Allmendinger led 21 of 40 laps in the Sprint Showdown and won the exhibition event to transfer into the Sprint All-Star Race (watch video). He finished 17th. And a week ago Allmendinger brought home a 20th-place finish in the marathon Coca-Cola 600. Meanwhile, his Red Bull teammate Brian Vickers was setting the pace for 61 laps before a wheel broke on the No. 83 Toyota and sent him into the wall for a 42nd-place finish.

Still, it didn't totally dampen the things Red Bull has been accomplishing this season.

"Obviously Brian maybe had the car to beat last week," Allmendinger said. "It was a hard-fought race last week. We got 20th out of it -- he had a good qualifying [run], and so did I."

While it took Allmendinger time to get on track this season, Vickers has been able to carry that progress all year.

Strong finishes early in the season put Vickers in the all-important top 12 in points for three of the first four weeks. Poor finishes at short tracks Bristol (39th), Martinsville (23rd), Phoenix (25th) and Richmond (28th) has dropped him to 20th in the standings heading into Sunday's 400-mile race at Dover. But the 1-mile concrete track handles much like those short tracks at which Vickers hasn't fared well.

Friday's qualifying effort didn't do much to squelch that notion. Vickers put his car sixth on the starting lineup, but he said that as he brought the car out of Turn 4 the engine began to skip.

"I'm not really sure what caused that or why, and we're not sure of it right now," Vickers said. "We think it may be electrical. That definitely hurt us a little bit."

Allmendinger placed his car eighth on the grid, but unlike his teammate, he's looking forward to Dover's short-track characteristics.

"It's one of those places where you can be aggressive and you can really get away with overdriving it a little bit and still be fast," Allmendinger said. "I think that kind of suits me just because I'm so aggressive with the car. It's kind of like Bristol in that sense -- I really like Bristol, and Dover is just a Bristol on steroids."

Both Vickers and Allmendinger may want to consult Red Bull Racing development driver and former Formula One star Scott Speed on the best way to get around Dover. Speed, driving for Red Bull's partner team Bill Davis Racing, won the Truck Series race Friday for his first victory in six series starts (watch video).

It was simply another good sign for the organization that continues to look long-term.

"Everybody at Red Bull Racing is doing a great job," Allmendinger said. "We're definitely making progress here at Red Bull and at Toyota."