TEAM RED BULL
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY 3M PERFORMANCE 400

ENTRIES: Red Bull No. 83 Brian Vickers and Red Bull No. 84 AJ Allmendinger
RACE: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, “3M Performance 400”
TRACK: Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, MI
DATES: August 17-19, 2007

+ SOMETIMES SAVED, SOMETIMES SNUBBED
The weather forecast for Friday in Brooklyn, Mich., calls for sunny skies with a mere 10-percent chance of precipitation. Friday, of course, is qualifying day for the 3M Performance 400, and the weather is worth noting because Mother Nature has been a dear friend of Red Bull Racing, all the while being its worst enemy.

Twice in the past five Nextel Cup races rain has helped Brian Vickers’ No. 83 Red Bull Toyota earn a spot in the show. His victory last fall at Talladega carries a lot of weight when it’s wet — like in July at Daytona or last week at Watkins Glen, even though the No. 83 had the speed in practice. But a free pass is a free pass.

And then there’s AJ Allmendinger. At the Glen, he hardly got a chance to show off his road-racing skills … rain, an abbreviated practice, more rain and no qualifying. Just like that, AJ and the No. 84 were headed home. The June event at 2-mile Michigan International Speedway was the last time both Red Bulls raced together. BV qualified 16th, and AJ tied a career-best finish in 31st.

+ QUOTES
Brian Vickers, No. 83 driver – “I’ve always really enjoyed racing at Michigan. It’s a fun race because you can run so many different grooves, which also makes it easier to pass. We need a strong qualifying effort and solid run this weekend. In the past, I’ve qualified in the top 10 four times, so hopefully we can duplicate that and come home with a good finish.”

Doug Richert, No. 83 crew chief – “We’re taking the same car back to Michigan as we did earlier in the season, and I felt we ran really well there. We have made some improvements to the car since then. We are hoping to have a good qualifying run and run a better race from start to finish than we have lately. I’m looking forward to going back and having a strong run.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 84 driver – “Last week in Watkins Glen was so frustrating because we had a car good enough to make the race, but we haven’t seemed to have any luck on our side recently. Rain is something you can’t control, though, so you can’t lose too much sleep over it. This week is a new week and I am looking forward to going back to Michigan again. We had a pretty good car back in June, and this time around we have an even better car and also more experience under our belts.”

Ricky Viers, No. 84 crew chief – “AJ is testing this week, which is good because with every lap he runs he becomes more and more comfortable with the car. Last time we came to Michigan, we were running well until the right-front tire went down. We are taking a better car back this time around. Making the race and running well this week is just what we need to get this team back on track and making races on a weekly basis. Everyone has been working so hard and that should be evident this weekend.”