Red Bull Racing Team, also known as Team Red Bull, was a NASCAR team owned by Red Bull founders Dietrich Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya. The team was based in Mooresville, North Carolina in the United States and was managed by Jay Frye. The team suspended operations on December 8, 2011 and their cars were sold to BK Racing.

Red Bull Racing Team
Owner(s)Dietrich Mateschitz
Chaleo Yoovidhya
BaseMooresville, North Carolina
SeriesSprint Cup Series
Nationwide Series
Race driversA. J. Allmendinger
Mattias Ekström
Kasey Kahne
Casey Mears
Boris Said
Mike Skinner
Reed Sorenson
Scott Speed
Brian Vickers
Cole Whitt
SponsorsRed Bull
ManufacturerDodge (2006)
Toyota (2007–2011)
Opened2006
Closed2011
Career
Races competedTotal: 286
Sprint Cup Series: 284
Nationwide Series: 2
Drivers' ChampionshipsTotal: 0
Sprint Cup Series: 0
Nationwide Series: 0
Race victoriesTotal: 2
Sprint Cup Series: 2
Nationwide Series: 0
Pole positionsTotal: 10
Sprint Cup Series: 10
Nationwide Series: 0

History edit

Origins edit

After moving to a newer location, Roger Penske decided to sell his old facility. Then, on January 26, 2006, the newly formed team said that they would purchase the facility, and would hire 75 workers. However, the team was not allowed to race in the 2006 season because their manufacturer, Toyota, was not cleared to race, so the team decided that they would drive Dodges during the season.[1] The team didn't have any materials to make their race cars, so they purchased multiple cars from Bill Davis Racing.

2006 season edit

The team was officially started in January, but they would not choose a driver until June 25, 2006, when Brian Vickers announced his decision to drive for the team on Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain. A couple months later, the team made their first NASCAR appearance with Bill Elliott as the driver, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the No. 83 Victory Junction Gang Dodge, but they failed to qualify for the race. On October 24, 2006, the team chose former Champ Car driver A. J. Allmendinger as the second driver. They also made two other appearances at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway, which like their first, they failed to qualify for both races. Then, announced on December 6, 2006, former Cup Series champion crew chief Doug Richert would serve as the crew chief for Vickers.[2]

2007 season edit

 
Brian Vickers driving for Red Bull in 2007 at Texas Motor Speedway.

During the 2007 season, the team moved to Toyota as the manufacturer. Both Vickers and Allmendinger failed to qualify for the 2007 Daytona 500. Allmendinger, in the first duel race, crashed with fellow competitor Robby Gordon on lap 24, causing heavy damage to both their race cars. Vickers blew a right rear tire on lap 51 in the second duel race, ending his chances of making the Daytona 500. One week later, Vickers qualified for the 2007 Auto Club 500, which resulted in the team receiving their first top-ten. After failing to qualify for four consecutive races, Allmendinger qualified for the 2007 Food City 500 held at Bristol Motor Speedway. During the 2007 Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR's longest race, Vickers was able to finish in the top-five. On October 5, 2007, the team's development driver, Scott Speed finished seventh in an ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway.[3] Allmendinger's team had a forty-third-place finish in the final owners' standings and had 19 DNQ's.[4] Despite Vickers ending the season with five top-ten finishes with one being a top-five in the Coca-Cola 600, where he led seventy-six laps and finished 5th, Vickers still failed to qualify for 13 races.[5] Vickers' team ended the season with a 38th owners' standings position.[4]

2008 season edit

 
A. J. Allmendinger drove for the team from 2006 to 2008.

In 2008, Kevin Hamlin became the crew chief for Vickers. Hamlin's past crew chief roles include stints with Dave Blaney's No. 22 Toyota, preceded by nine years of crew chief duties with Richard Childress Racing drivers including Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, and Dale Earnhardt. Hamlin has amassed nine previous Cup wins; five of those with Earnhardt Sr. Said Sawyer of hiring Hamlin: "Finding the right crew chief for the 83 team was a pivotal decision in an effort to restructure the foundation on that team. We need a crew chief with not only the right experience and background to work effectively with our driver and crew, but someone who also shares the same vision for success. We found that package with Kevin Hamlin. Our focus between now and Daytona is not only getting our cars up to speed for the season opener, but also getting Kevin up to speed working with Red Bull, Brian (Vickers) and the 83 team."[6] Due in large part to the additions of Frye and Hamlin, the No. 83 team has been shown to be the most improved in the series, qualifying for all the current races and secured a Top 35 exemption following the spring race at Bristol.[7] Also in 2008, Allmendinger failed to make the first three races of 2008 and was replaced by Mike Skinner on a temporary basis starting with the spring Atlanta race. Allmendinger returned at the Aaron's 499 at Talladega with a new silver paint scheme, and won the Sprint Showdown two weeks later, making him eligible for the All-Star Race. Allmendinger also recorded a 10th-place finish at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. In May, even though Vickers had not won a race for the team prior to Sprint All-Star Race XXIV, they won the All-Star Pit Crew Competition.[3] Later in the season, Allmendinger announced that he was going to leave Red Bull to race for Richard Petty Motorsports in 2009.

2009 season edit

 
Scott Speed drove for the team in the Cup Series from 2008 to 2010.

2009 ended up being a high-water mark for the team, as Vickers scored the team's first victory, and the second of his career, at Michigan in August. This was part of a strong late-summer run that resulted in Vickers taking the last spot in the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup at Richmond in September, also a first for the Red Bull team. Unfortunately, an underwhelming Chase performance resulted in Vickers finishing 12th in the final points. Meanwhile, the team signed Scott Speed to replace Allmendinger in the renumbered 82 car. However, Speed could manage only a distant second to Joey Logano in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings.

2010 season edit

For the 2010 season, Speed and Vickers remained with the team, but on May 21, Vickers experienced medical problems, which resulted in him missing the rest of the season. His replacements were Casey Mears, Reed Sorenson, Mattias Ekstrom,[8] Boris Said, and Kasey Kahne. Speed was let go at the end of the season, and he in turn filed a lawsuit against Red Bull.

2011 season edit

 
Kasey Kahne drove for the team from October 2010 to November 2011.

For the 2011 season, Kahne became a full-time driver for the team, driving car No. 4 (formerly No. 82),[9][10] and Vickers returned to drive the No. 83 car.[11] On June 20, 2011, the Associated Press reported that Red Bull was planning to leave NASCAR at the end of the season. The team's on-track struggles, combined with a lackluster outreach to the 18–34 demographic, forced their departure.[12] Despite this, Kahne scored the team's final victory at the November race at Phoenix, while Vickers struggled for most of the year, resulting in a 25th-place points finish.[13] Kahne finished the season in 14th.[13] The team fielded a third car, numbered 84, in the final two races of the season, with development driver Cole Whitt behind the wheel. Whitt finished 25th at Phoenix, but crashed out just past halfway at Homestead, finishing 37th.[14] The team officially closed on December 8, 2011.[15] The team's cars, owners points, and equipment were purchased by former TRG Motorsports executive Ron Devine to form BK Racing.[16]

Team results edit

No. 4/82/84 car edit

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 NSCC Pts
2006 A. J. Allmendinger 84 Dodge DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL
DNQ
TEX
DNQ
PHO HOM NA -
2007 Toyota DAY
DNQ
CAL
DNQ
LVS
DNQ
ATL
DNQ
BRI
40
MAR
38
TEX
DNQ
PHO
DNQ
TAL
DNQ
RCH
32
DAR
36
CLT
31
DOV
33
POC
39
MCH
31
SON
DNQ
NHA
DNQ
DAY
DNQ
CHI
DNQ
IND
DNQ
POC
DNQ
GLN
DNQ
MCH
DNQ
BRI
35
CAL
18
RCH
23
NHA
33
DOV
43
KAN
DNQ
TAL
DNQ
CLT
15
MAR
35
ATL
16
TEX
39
PHO
DNQ
HOM
DNQ
43rd 1165
2008 DAY
DNQ
CAL
DNQ
LVS
DNQ
TAL
30
RCH
39
DAR
27
CLT
20
DOV
37
POC
12
MCH
19
SON
37
NHA
43
DAY
42
CHI
13
IND
10
POC
19
GLN
11
MCH
28
BRI
34
CAL
14
RCH
43
NHA
38
DOV
16
KAN
9
36th 2436
Mike Skinner ATL
27
BRI
40
MAR
31
TEX
29
PHO
28
TAL
31
CLT
39
48th 734
Scott Speed MAR
30
ATL
34
TEX
33
PHO
41
HOM
16
55th 366
2009 82 DAY
35
CAL
41
LVS
21
ATL
35
BRI
28
MAR
39
TEX
DNQ
PHO
34
TAL
5
RCH
33
DAR
DNQ
CLT
18
DOV
37
POC
32
MCH
37
SON
DNQ
NHA
36
DAY
31
CHI
36
IND
31
POC
23
GLN
22
MCH
34
BRI
15
ATL
24
RCH
36
NHA
31
DOV
25
KAN
27
CAL
21
CLT
28
MAR
31
TAL
27
TEX
18
PHO
33
HOM
27
35th 2690
2010 DAY
19
CAL
11
LVS
22
ATL
10
BRI
31
MAR
33
PHO
21
TEX
16
TAL
15
RCH
35
DAR
28
DOV
23
CLT
30
POC
20
MCH
28
SON
18
NHA
27
DAY
10
CHI
30
IND
25
POC
26
GLN
43
MCH
25
BRI
33
ATL
34
RCH
24
NHA
36
DOV
32
KAN
19
CAL
24
CLT
19
MAR
23
TAL
29
TEX
27
PHO
35
HOM
23
30th 3178
2011 Kasey Kahne 4 DAY
25
PHO
6
LVS
14
BRI
9
CAL
9
MAR
39
TEX
21
TAL
37
RCH
3
DAR
4*
DOV
36
CLT
22
KAN
14
POC
12
MCH
28
SON
20
DAY
4
KEN
13
NHA
6
IND
18*
POC
28
GLN
26
MCH
7
BRI
11
ATL
34
RCH
38
CHI
12
NHA
15
DOV
4
KAN
2
CLT
4
TAL
6
MAR
25
TEX
3
PHO
1
HOM
7
14th 1041
Cole Whitt 84 DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL MAR TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT KAN POC MCH INF DAY KEN NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH CHI NHA DOV KAN CLT TAL MAR TEX PHO
25
HOM
37
49th 26

No. 83 car edit

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 NSCC Pts
2006 Bill Elliott 83 Dodge DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT
DNQ
MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM NA -
2007 Brian Vickers Toyota DAY
DNQ
CAL
10
LVS
DNQ
ATL
42
BRI
15
MAR
DNQ
TEX
14
PHO
DNQ
TAL
DNQ
RCH
DNQ
DAR
43
CLT
5
DOV
19
POC
35
MCH
41
SON
DNQ
NHA
DNQ
DAY
29
CHI
DNQ
IND
21
POC
29
GLN
41
MCH
8
BRI
DNQ
CAL
8
RCH
24
NHA
43
DOV
16
KAN
DNQ
TAL
39
CLT
DNQ
MAR
DNQ
ATL
10
TEX
23
PHO
21
HOM
42
38th 2065
2008 DAY
12
CAL
11
LVS
24
ATL
9
BRI
39
MAR
23
TEX
16
PHO
25
TAL
5
RCH
28
DAR
25
CLT
42
DOV
13
POC
2
MCH
4
SON
14
NHA
16
DAY
11
CHI
6
IND
42
POC
28
GLN
18
MCH
7
BRI
20
CAL
12
RCH
36
NHA
35
DOV
31
KAN
15
TAL
35
CLT
18
MAR
11
ATL
21
TEX
18
PHO
42
HOM
32
19th 3580
2009 DAY
39
CAL
10
LVS
8
ATL
5
BRI
29
MAR
33
TEX
16
PHO
19
TAL
8
RCH
15
DAR
31
CLT
5
DOV
25
POC
21
MCH
9
SON
16
NHA
35
DAY
7
CHI
7
IND
5
POC
6
GLN
11
MCH
1
BRI
12
ATL
7
RCH
7
NHA
11
DOV
18
KAN
37
CAL
29
CLT
34
MAR
11
TAL
13
TEX
26
PHO
38
HOM
20
12th 5929
2010 DAY
15
CAL
12
LVS
31
ATL
7
BRI
15
MAR
6
PHO
37
TEX
38
TAL
29
RCH
20
DAR
10
40th 1158
Casey Mears DOV
22
CLT
29
POC
23
MCH
36
36th 1573
Mattias Ekström SON
21
RCH
31
58th 175
Reed Sorenson NHA
24
DAY
8
CHI
27
IND
35
POC
32
MCH
26
BRI
15
ATL
14
NHA
27
DOV
16
KAN
30
CAL
27
CLT
18
39th 1355
Boris Said GLN
38
52nd 448
Kasey Kahne MAR
14
TAL
26
TEX
13
PHO
30
HOM
6
20th 3961
2011 Brian Vickers DAY
31
PHO
30
LVS
10
BRI
36
CAL
8
MAR
17
TEX
27
TAL
38
RCH
10
DAR
34
DOV
5
CLT
18
KAN
16
POC
22
MCH
10
SON
36
DAY
12
KEN
27
NHA
34
IND
15
POC
39
GLN
18
MCH
15
BRI
21
ATL
11
RCH
33
CHI
13
NHA
5
DOV
14
KAN
19
CLT
20
TAL
5
MAR
30
TEX
21
PHO
23
HOM
17
25th 846

Nationwide series edit

NASCAR Nationwide Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 NNSC Pts Ref
2010 Cole Whitt 84 Toyota DAY CAL LVS BRI NSH PHO TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT NSH KEN ROA NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP IOW GLN MCH BRI CGV ATL RCH DOV KAN CAL CLT GTY TEX PHO
15
HOM
17
107th 118 [17]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Red Bull to buy old Penske factory". Grand Prix. 26 January 2006. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
  2. ^ "Doug Richert named No. 83 Red Bull Crew Chief for Brian Vickers". autoracingsport.com. 2006-12-06. Archived from the original on 2008-10-10. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
  3. ^ a b "Key Dates for the team". Red Bull Racing Team. Archived from the original on 27 September 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
  4. ^ a b "2007 Owner Driver Standings". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
  5. ^ "Vickers carries Toyota to season's best finish in 600". NASCAR.com. 2007-05-28. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  6. ^ "#83 Team News and Links Page". jayski.com. 2008-01-13. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
  7. ^ Newton, David (2008-09-29). "Vickers not so crazy after all for leaving Hendrick for Team Red Bull". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
  8. ^ Sporting News Wire Service (2010-06-07). "Ekstrom earns Cup ride for Red Bull Racing at Infineon – Jun 7, 2010". Nascar.Com. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  9. ^ Team Release (August 10, 2010). "Kahne to drive for Red Bull Racing Team in 2011 – Aug 10, 2010". Nascar.Com. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  10. ^ "Kahne in a Red Bull Toyota for 2011". Red Bull Racing. August 10, 2010. Archived from the original on August 17, 2010. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  11. ^ Sporting News Wire Service (December 14, 2010). "Kahne to drive No. 4 Toyota for Red Bull in 2011 - Dec 14, 2010". Nascar.Com. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  12. ^ "Report: Red Bull leaving NASCAR after season". NASCAR.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Associated Press. June 20, 2011. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011.
  13. ^ a b "2011 Official Driver Standings: Ford 400". NASCAR. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  14. ^ "Driver Cole Whitt 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved Feb 7, 2019.
  15. ^ Whisenant, David (December 8, 2011). "Mooresville's Red Bull Racing closed down Thursday". Lake Norman News. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  16. ^ Caraviello, David (February 27, 2012). "Getting to Daytona is BK Racing's biggest victory". NASCAR. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  17. ^ "Cole Whitt – 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 12, 2018.

External links edit

35°34′57″N 80°48′46″W / 35.5825°N 80.8129°W / 35.5825; -80.8129