Forced to “race†their way into the season-opening Daytona 500, Team Red Bull’s AJ Allmendinger and Brian Vickers were patiently minding their own business yesterday in separate Gatorade Duel 150s qualifier races for the Daytona 500 when out of nowhere – BAM! – AJ tangles with Robby Gordon on lap 23 when Gordon’s No. 7 surprisingly drifted down onto the No. 84, resulting in AJ’s front bumper clipping Gordon’s rear that sent them both into the wall. Then on lap 49 of 60 in the second Duel 150 – BAM! – Brian’s right rear blew, sending him into the wall. The skies above Daytona were dark and gloomy during the Duel 500s, so needless to say, the team hopes the racing gods’ mood will change favorably toward Team Red Bull when the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series goes to sunny California next week.
FREE QUOTES
Brian Vickers, No. 83 Driver—“It’s disappointing to not make it into the Daytona 500, but we came down here and gave it our best, so that’s all we can do. We blew a right rear tire and that’s something you can’t control. We ran well so we’ll have to take what we learned and try again at California. â€
AJ Allmendinger, No. 84 Driver—“The team deserves to be in the Daytona 500 after all the hard work they have put in. The 7 car came down on me. I tried to get off the throttle, but ended up barely clipping him. We were fighting hard. We kept pitting to get the car where we wanted it. I know if we could have been there at the end of the race, we would have been in contention to make the 500. ”
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