TEAM RED BULL
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
PEP BOYS AUTO 500

ENTRIES: Red Bull No. 83 Brian Vickers and Red Bull No. 84 AJ Allmendinger
RACE: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, “Pep Boys Auto 500”
TRACK: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, GA
DATES: October 26-28, 2007

+ DRY TIMES IN THE ATL
Dry lawns and dirty cars are a fact of life these days in the South, where an epic drought has the region’s biggest city nearly dying of thirst. Some 5 million Atlanta residents have less than a 90-day supply of water, and Gov. Sonny Perdue has urged the entire state to conserve every drop of H2O.

Shorter showers are recommended. Using the toilet as an ashtray is not.

Just how bad is it in the ATL? Bad enough that a total outdoor watering ban has blanketed the city because only two inches of rain has fallen in the past two months. Bad enough that two area lakes — Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona — are 16 feet below normal. And, yes, bad enough that NASCAR has stepped in and instructed teams not to wash their mammoth big rigs and motor homes upon arrival at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The sport’s conservation effort goes as far as teams “catching” water after engine flushes during practice and qualifying runs. Every little bit helps, especially in a seemingly permanent state of being parched.

Red Bull Racing Team wouldn’t hold it against Mother Nature should the skies open up around qualifying time at 7:10 p.m. ET Friday night. Atlanta, finally, would get some relief, and the Nos. 83 and 84, though prepared to time their way in, would get into the Pep Boys Auto 500.

Brian Vickers and AJ Allmendinger fit nicely into the protocol for determining a starting lineup if rain nixes time trials. Vickers, twice a top-10 finisher at Atlanta, is guaranteed a starting spot based on his victory last fall at Talladega. Allmendinger, whose No. 84 sits 45th in the owner standings (seven points ahead of the No. 36), would sneak into the show at the tail end of the field.

+ CALLING HIS OWN SHOTS
Randy Cox earned a seat atop the No. 83 pit box for the remaining four races. Red Bull Racing Team’s manager of research and development takes over as crew chief for Doug Richert, who made an amicable split with the team earlier this week. Cox is no stranger to the crew chief role, with past Busch Series stints with Kenny Wallace and David Stremme.

+ QUOTES
Brian Vickers, No. 83 driver: “We had a great car the last time we raced at Atlanta, but we had some engine problems and were running on only seven cylinders for the majority of the race. Despite having just seven cylinders, we were really competitive and even led our first laps of the year. I’d like to say we had a top-five car or even a race-winning car, but unfortunately we’ll never know what could have been. We got caught up in a wreck with the No. 00 and the No. 16, which took us out of the race early. If we can get as good of a car as we had last time, and actually run with all cylinders, then we’ll have the car to beat.”

Randy Cox, No. 83 crew chief: “Coming from the R and D side, I’ve worked with Brian Vickers before, but this weekend at Atlanta is going to be a challenge working with a whole new group of guys. It is nice to know that we have a strong base to go back to, because Brian and the car were great at Atlanta the last time — and that was on only seven cylinders. The No. 83 has run strong at most of the intermediate tracks all season.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 84 driver: “I’m excited to get to Atlanta. Since qualifying is at night, a race track like this gets cold and fast, so one little mistake could mess up your qualifying effort. It’s definitely going to be touch and go to get in the race, but I know this team can do it no problem. I’m really looking forward to racing in Atlanta after the run we had in Charlotte. I think we can back that finish up with another solid, competitive run.”

Ricky Viers, No. 84 crew chief: “Back in March, we had a great chance to make the race and run well. Unfortunately we had engine problems during qualifying that prevented us from making the race, so we never had the chance to show what we could do. This time around I feel like we have a good package going into the race weekend. We are taking the same car where AJ ran his best finish in Charlotte a few weeks ago. Coming out of Martinsville, we moved up a position in the owner’s points, which locks us into the race this weekend if it rains. So I won’t hope it rains, but it sure wouldn’t hurt my feelings if it did. We have been so focused on points all year in whatever we are trying to accomplish — you have to be when you are outside the top 35. Our goal for the remainder of the year is to make the last four races and move up a few more spots in the standings — and the No. 55, No. 44, No. 78 and No. 4 cars are all within our reach.”