Team Red Bull may be installing an ejection seat in the #84 Red Bull Toyota as they’re about to give the driver wings. A report off the Associated Press is posted on Fox Sports which states that Red Bull is considering relieving A.J. Allmendinger temporarily of his driving duties in an effort to determine what is wrong with that program.
With the strong showing of Toyotas in the first three races this year, the finger certainly can’t be pointed at the manufacturer as the problem with their program. We also can not say that A.J. hasn’t been given enough chances (:cough: :cough: Jacques Villeneuve). His teammate, Brian Vickers, is certainly performing better this year compared to last as he now sits 13th in points with an average finish of 15.7 after starting the year off with two finishes just outside the top ten (a 12th at Daytona, and an 11th at California). True, Vickers should be outperforming Allmendinger, but I’m looking for a ratio of improvement over last year and it’s not there in the #84 car.
Giving A.J. more seat time in the lower ranks of Nationwide or Trucks is something that should have been considered long ago. 
A.J. didn’t compete in his first of only seven Nationwide Series races until September of 2007! And while Vickers is certainly experienced enough to have been able to act as a veteran driver for A.J., was that really Brian’s job and didn’t he have his own problems getting into and competing in races last year? Yeah, I think so. Brian Vickers has his own responsibilities and problems and doesn’t need to take on the role of Mr. Miyagi within Team Red Bull.
So now the answer apparently is to maybe pull Allmendinger out of the car and have him run races in the lower ranks. Then, bring in a veteran driver who can act as a mentor and get the #84 car up to speed. But this replacement driver shouldn’t get too comfortable. He might even need to bring his own fire suit because this would be a temporary job. Some of the names being thrown out there are Mike Skinner, Johnny Benson, Sterling Marlin, David Stremme, and Johnny Sauter. Johnny Sauter??? I don’t think Sauter’s average finish of 26.9 throughout last year (in arguably better equipment last season, mind you) is going to pull the #84 team up the ranks much. However, to Sauter’s credit, he did get and keep that car in the top 35 in points by the end of the season before being dumped for Mayfield and Riggs (whichever you want to say took his seat). But I have to wonder if Johnny even wants a temporary ride.
If you ask me (and I know, nobody did), the #84 team needed to put A.J. in the lower ranks a lot earlier in the year last year. He should have had a mentor after the first half dozen races of 2007 that he didn’t make. I admire that Team Red Bull is sticking behind A.J. for the future. I think that’s really cool and it’s nice that the team can afford to do that since they are the team and sponsor all rolled up into one. But why they waited until so late in the 2007 season to start getting him seat time in Nationwide cars, I don’t know.
So, with that water under the bridge, who would be the best to put into the #84 seat now? How about Ward Burton as a mentor? I’ve got another driver that came to my mind as one who has won races for one of the biggest teams in NASCAR, Roush Racing. He’s a driver who has mentored other drivers, including a couple of those “Driver X” boys who have moved up within the Roush organization. He’s a driver who is open to a part-time ride and is really not wanting a full time ride and the schedule that comes along with it. I’m talking about Ricky Craven. I’d love to hear your comments on this and who you think would be a good choice. I’ll put up a poll too.