Red Bull Leaving NASCAR At End Of Year

So much for that idea...

This makes sense on a couple of fronts...

1) The energy drink market has become so fractured that Red Bull has lost market share in the US- regardless of the amount of competition...

2) The team has struggled since it started in 2007- even as the trendsetter that brought in Toyota as a race car full-time. Brian Vickers failed to qualify for 13 of 36 races in '07. He finished 38th in the final Sprint Cup standings. AJ Allmendinger missed 19 races that year and was 43rd in the final points.

Jay Frye was brought on the next season as GM, and the team improved on the track. But Allmendinger was let go late in 2008 for Scott Speed...

Speed was let go at the end of last year and is currently suing Red Bull, according to ESPN's Marty Smith.

Here's Scott's take...
((HT: SpeedChannel/NASCAR/NASCARImages/youtube))


Vickers won a race in 2009, but was sidelined most of last year with blood clots.
((HT: XERB1090/ESPN on ABC/NASCAR))


The team has Kasey Kahne on loan from Hendrick Motorsports to go with Vickers this year, but Kahne has five top-10 finishes and is 19th in points and Vickers has five top-10 finishes and is 24th in points.

So, then there's stability...

3) NASCAR has been losing audience in the energy drink target demo: 18-34...

Red Bull's success in Formula One goes without saying as Sebastian Vettel has ruled the circuit this year...
((HT: FOM/youtube))


So, what would you do...???
Even with the guys looking for a major sponsor next year, they're still bailing...

Allmendinger Drives Drunk

NASCAR Driver AJ Allmendinger may be in a spot of trouble. Allmendinger was arrested, very early Thursday morning for Driving Under the Influence in Mooresville, North Carolina. No word yet if he was racing or chasing (sorry just had to make that joke). He was released from custody later in the morning.

The story from Statesville.com IS RIGHT HERE

((AJ Allmendinger and Car//Courtesy: Getty/Nascar Images))

Allmendinger, who drives the number 44 car for Richard Petty Motorsports may be in some serious trouble here. Petty is not known for tolerating alcohol sponsorships on his cars and generally frowns upon it. Supposedly, Allmendinger was in line to be promoted to the teams 43 car for the 2010 season, no word if those plans will be changing. RPM also, at least at this point has made a comment.

All this story does is give us an excuse to show the First Big One at Talladega from the first race this season... Allmendinger was involved...
((HT: NASCAR on FOX/NASCAR Media))


PM UPDATE: From NASCAR their own selves...

AJ Allmendinger, driver for the No. 44 team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, has been placed on probation until Dec. 31, 2009.

Allmendinger has violated Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing) of the 2009 NASCAR rule book.

That is all... AJ should be in the 44 car this weekend at Talladega...

Richard Petty, Yates Merging For 2010 Season

((HT: AJC))

Under the agreement announced Thursday, Yates driver Paul Menard will join RPM drivers Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and A.J. Allmendinger next year.

RPM was formed in January when Petty Holdings merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

The team has met with mixed success, though Kahne is in good position to make the 12-driver chase for the championship after picking up his second victory of the season last week in Atlanta. Kahne is sixth in points heading into Saturday's race at Richmond, the final race before the chase begins.

"This is a pretty big deal for us," Petty said. "We're thrilled to partner with Ford. We've talked with a lot of folks, but in the end it came down tothe success the Gilletts and I think we can achieve with Ford Racing."

The switch from Dodge to Ford should ease some of the financial pressure felt by RPM since Chrysler's Chapter 11 filing. RPM laid off employees and cut salaries after Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection.

"If you are going to compete with the other teams in this sport, you need a lot of support," said RPM managing partner Foster Gillett. "We bring a lot to this relationship as well. We've won twice this season and the power of Richard Petty is hard to beat, plus we have the support of some of the biggest names in corporate in America."

The merger leaves RPM driver Reed Sorenson and former NASCAR champion Bobby Labonte —who has been driving for Yates — looking for work while bringing Kahne full circle with Ford.

Kahne was being groomed by for big things by Ford in 2003 when he suddenly left the fold and signed with Ray Evernham's Dodge team, a move that gave Kahne a full-time ride at the Cup level. Ford sued for breach of contract, but the case was eventually thrown out of court.

Brian Wolfe, director of Ford North America Motorsports, called RPM's decision to switch manufacturers "gratifying."

"We will work with them closely on the technical front to help them become even more competitive than they are," he said. "What's also really good to me is the chance to have someone with the class and the legacy of Richard Petty involved with Ford."

Petty, winner of a record 200 NASCAR races, said some of the details are still being worked on. But he added there is little doubt the merger will help RPM make inroads on NASCAR super teams like Hendrick Motorsports.

"I've won races with Ford and plan to again," he said.

Just not with Sorenson, who is 28th in points this year with just one Top 10 finish.

Labonte is 30th while driving for Yates as part of a joint venture with Hall of Fame Racing, but was pulled from last week's race at Atlanta in favor of rookie Erik Darnell. Labonte ended up driving the No. 71 car for TRG Motorsports and finished 18th while Darnell was 30th.

Yates Racing co-owner Max Jones said it will still field two cars for the remainder of the 2009 season. Menard, who is 32nd in points, will drive one car while Darnell and Labonte will split time in the other.

All the story above does is give us a chance to show you the Sonoma race from earlier in the year where Kahne held off Tony Stewart
((HT: NASCAR Media/TNT))

AJ Gets RPM Through 2010

((HT: SpeedTV))

Richard Petty Motorsports announced today AJ Allmendinger ((pictured, thanks Todd Warshaw/Getty)) will race for the team in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

“This was an easy decision for Richard Petty Motorsports,” said Tom Reddin, the team’s chief executive officer. “AJ has done a superb job, both on and off the track in 2009. We want to let everyone know that he’s going to be a vital part of Richard Petty Motorsports for what we believe will be a long-term, winning relationship.”
The Petty team signed Allmendinger before the start of the 2009 season with plans to run the Bud Shootout and the first eight point races. Allmendinger finished fifth in the preseason Bud Shootout, and posted a third-place finish in the Daytona 500 and a ninth-place finish at Martinsville. He was the only driver without a guaranteed starting spot to qualify for all of the races in 2009.

Sponsorship from Dodge, Hunt Brothers Pizza, Valvoline, Harrah’s, Super 8, the Paralyzed Veterans of America and Charter Communications extended Allmendinger’s schedule through the September 12 Richmond race.

Reddin said he is confident the team will secure the sponsorship needed to extend the number of races the 27-year-old Californian will run in 2009 for the full season. Allmendinger is 20th in points but only 104 points out of the 12th and final “Chase” position.

“I’m thrilled about this,” Allmendinger said. “Racers are no different than anyone else. We like to know we have a job. I’m very thankful to be where I am and I expect we will keep running better and better each weekend. I think I have found a long-term home at Richard Petty Motorsports.”
Allmendinger, who won the 2008 Sprint All-Star Open, owns 51 starts in his brief NASCAR tenure after leaving an open wheel career where he won five races in the Champ Car series.

Here's some of the handiwork RPM was looking for when they signed him. This is when AJ was driving for that high-powered energy drink team...
((HT: NASCAR Images/Speed))

It's Amore... Allmendinger Good Through September

((HT: Foxsports))

AJ Allmendinger picked up a sponsor Wednesday that will keep his Richard Petty Motorsports entry running at least until September.

Hunt Brothers Pizza will sponsor six races and the All-Star event, ensuring the Number 44 ((pictured, thanks Nick Laham/Getty Images)) will stay on the track at least through the September 12 race in Richmond, Virginia.

Allmendinger started the season with just enough sponsorship to take him through the first quarter of the Sprint Cup schedule, and RPM officials recently extended that deal through the end of May.

"This is awesome news," Allmendinger said. "I want to thank Hunt Brothers Pizza for coming on board and supporting us. We plan to give Hunt Brothers Pizza a lot to talk about in the coming weeks."
There's been a buzz surrounding Allmendinger since his release from Red Bull Racing late last season. He was impressive in a brief stint driving for Gillett-Evernham Motorsports, and the team briefly considered dumping Elliott Sadler in favor of Allmendinger.

GEM then merged with Petty Enterprises in January, and the new organization instead started the season with Allmendinger in an underfunded fourth entry. Then he opened the season with a third-place finish in the Daytona 500, and has continued to impress RPM officials since, qualifying on speed for the first five races of the year to lock himself inside the top-35 in points.

Allmendinger, a former Champ Car star, is currently 20th in the Cup standings after slipping five spots with a poor race last week in Texas. He's currently higher in the standings than RPM drivers Sadler and Reed Sorenson, and only trails teammate Kasey Kahne, who is 10th.

"I think we have shown that we have the ability to run up front in this series," he said. "I think you are going to see our results get progressively better the longer this team stays together. We started the year putting an emphasis on qualifying, but now that we are locked in the starting field we can turn our attention to the race and that's going to help our race results.

"We are committed to making this thing work and I think we offer a great opportunity for Hunt Brothers, our existing partners as well as any partner looking to be part of NASCAR and Richard Petty Motorsports."

Larry McReynolds thinks that the parking of the Almirola 8 could just be the beginning.

He's looking closely at the Scott Riggs, Jeremy Mayfield, and David Gilliland cars as the next go-round. But he also points to guys running half-schedules ((like Bill Elliott and Regan Smith)) as examples of how it can be done sucessfully.

Allmendinger To Gillette Evernham...?

Multiple sources are telling Marty Smith at the four-letter that AJ Allmendinger ((pictured, thanks nascar.com)) will be replacing Elliott Sadler behind the wheel of the #19 Dodge Charger next season.

Allmendinger was released from his ride over at team Red Bull and had auditioned in late 2008 with a few other cars.

It seems some sponsors attached to the Sadler car are none too pleased with the seat swap and considered bailing, but that is not confirmed as of yet. Apparently, GEM Chief Operating Officer Tom Reddin was a master of good timing here- telling everyone of the move right before the Christmas holiday.

Sources also tell Smith that Ray Evernham, who founded the team and sold majority ownership to George Gillett, cleared out all personal possessions from the team's shop, including the 2002 Brickyard 400 trophy he won as owner of Bill Elliott's No. 9Dodge.

You'll remember that GEM also has scaled back its Nationwide series operation and released 65 employees after the 2008 season wrapped up.

The GEM line-up for 2009 is now Kasey Kahne, Reed Sorenson, and Allmendinger.