TEAM RED BULL
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
UAW-FORD 500

ENTRIES: Red Bull No. 83 Brian Vickers and Red Bull No. 84 AJ Allmendinger
RACE: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, “UAW-Ford 500”
TRACK: Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, AL
DATES: October 4-7, 2007

+ APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION
Talladega Superspeedway demands that no fan partake in any sort of lewd behavior during one of its two NASCAR weekends. (Cue the laughter anytime now.)

A venture into the fields in and around Talladega reveals a war zone without the guns, IEDs and rubble. Bodies saturated with barley and hops lie all over the place, some clothed and some not. The ones that are standing aren’t standing straight up, and a few stragglers are still hanging onto that beer from the night before, which by this time tastes like bath water. There are, of course, fancy living arrangements with electricity and running water, but a school bus gutted for 72 hours of debauchery does just fine.

Indeed, life at Talladega is not for the faint of heart. Many adolescent males have gawked at their first set of breasts, and many busty bimbos have unveiled theirs to earn Mardi Gras-style necklaces. Beads around these parts of central Alabama are worth far more than the American dollar.

No matter how hard Talladega tries to redefine its character, the legend remains intact. Some 25 police agencies from across Alabama attempt to infiltrate the crowd with hopes of creating a family-friendly atmosphere. They’re on horse, in choppers above, on bikes and on foot. But they are far outnumbered by folks who resort to medieval living just to see a pack of race cars scream by every 50 seconds.

Bad behavior isn’t condoned at Talladega. It is, however, expected. Last April, 14 fans were permanently banned for throwing objects onto the track when Jeff Gordon — considered the devil at Dale-a-dega — won the Aaron’s 499. Red Bull Racing’s Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Toyota, heard a few F-bombs after his controversial victory last fall.

Just remember to send a search party should anyone brave the infield or outskirts of Talladega.

+ SPEED’S ARCA DEBUT
Forget the COT. Forget the Chase. Forget Dale Jr. What better way to spend your Friday evening than watching the ARCA race? After all, Scott Speed is competing for the first time since he left Formula One.

He’ll drive the No. 21 Red Bull Toyota for Eddie Sharp Racing in Friday’s ARCA RE/MAX Series 250. Speed, 24, has never competed on an oval, but he did test the No. 21 during the Sept. 25 ARCA test at Talladega. He ranked 29th fastest at 180.271 mph.

+QUOTES
Brian Vickers, No. 83 driver – “We had a great qualifying run the last time we went to Talladega and even qualified 21st overall. Unfortunately, 21st wasn’t fast enough of the go or go homers, so we were one of the teams sent packing. The field trying to qualify at Talladega is always one of the biggest and most competitive fields we qualify against all year, so it’s not an easy thing to do to get into the race. While we had a good car last time, we have to find every little thing we can to be just a little bit better this time. We don’t want to miss out on Talladega again.”

Doug Richert, No. 83 crew chief – “People have always talked about ‘The Big One’ at Talladega, referring to the big wreck that always happens during the race, but for our team we’re talking about ‘The Big One,’ which is qualifying day because it determines whether we actually get to race on Sunday or not. We had a great car in practice and qualifying last time, but as we learned, you can have a great car at Talladega and still not make the race. We’ve struggled with both the COT and superspeedways this year, so we have our work cut out for us.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 84 driver – “We had a decent test at Talladega a couple of weeks ago so we are cautiously optimistic coming into this weekend. We will definitely be more competitive than we have been at other superspeedways this year. But since it is the first time with a COT, I just don’t really know what to expect.”

Ricky Viers, No. 84 crew chief – “Going into Talladega this weekend, we don’t really know what to expect. This is the first COT race on a speedway so we are taking a brand-new car. We have been working hard, and like every week, we never give up. We will go there with a positive attitude and do the best we can do. I honestly don’t think any team knows exactly what to expect. Everyone tested at Talladega a few weeks ago, but until all the cars go through the same room of inspection and NASCAR inspects each car at the same time, we won’t really know how we are going to stack up against the other cars.”