Open-Wheel Star Allemndinger Inks NASCAR Ride With Team Red Bull

The Champ car star will make his first NASCAR appearance this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Photo courtesy: nascar.com

ATLANTA, Ga. - On Tuesday, Team Red Bull formally announced a multi-year agreement with American open-wheel race car driver A.J. Allmendinger to race the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota for the 2007 Nextel Cup season.

Allmendinger completes the 2007 driver line-up for Team Red Bull that already includes 23- year-old Brian Vickers, who'll pilot the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota.

"I'm really excited about this next challenge in my racing career," Allmendinger said. "To race against some of the best drivers in the world in front of fans that are as enthusiastic about racing as I am is going to be a pretty big thrill.

Rick Viers, the veteran crew chief who guided the 24-year-old Californian through two successful Craftsman Truck Series races for Bill Davis Racing earlier this year, also joins Team Red Bull in the same role for 2007.

"I see a huge amount of potential in A.J.," Viers said. "On the racetrack, he's smart, patient and definitely not afraid to race. For the first half of next year, AJ must use his patience to learn as much as he can before moving forward in the second half.

"Hopefully, he'll be a solid rookie of the year candidate by year's end."

A former Toyota Atlantic champion and Champ Car rookie of the year, Allmendinger currently stands second in the 2006 Champ Car World Series standings with five race wins.

To speed up his acclimation to stock car racing, Bill Elliott has graciously agreed to step aside and let Allmendinger take on driver duties in the Team Red Bull entry for the upcoming Nextel Cup races at Atlanta and Texas.

"I know this is going to be a lot of work in the upcoming months, but I couldn't be happier to do it with Team Red Bull," he said. "Hopefully, we can all go out and deliver a good show."

Adding comments to these stories has been disabled. View the current sports stories Salem-News Sports