Its never easy... (look whos in the 84 car at Homestead)

"Martin in the #84 at Homestead: Monday [11-10-2008] on “SIRIUS Speedway” on SIRIUS NASCAR Radio, host Dave Moody is reporting that Mark Martin will drive the #84 Red Bull Toyota this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, replacing Scott Speed. Host, Dave Moody: “Since taking over for the released AJ Allmendinger four races ago, Speed has recorded an average finish of 34.2, including a 40th yesterday in Phoenix. The team has fallen out of the Top-35 in owners’ points now. They now trail the Michael Waltrip Motorsports #47 team by 16 points with one race to go in the battle for that all important 35th position in the owner standings. An official announcement is expected from the team later this afternoon. Mark Martin, of course, enjoys a long relationship with Red Bull Racing general manager Jay Frye, for whom he drove at the former MB3 and Ginn Racing teams. He ran his final scheduled event for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. yesterday in Phoenix. He, of course, will move to Hendrick Motorsports full time in 2009. His arrangement with Red Bull Racing is, we are told, for one race only and will have no impact on the team's long term plans for Scott Speed.(SIRIUS XM Radio PR)(11-10-2008)"

RGM hopefully has their crap together for Homestead. This could get ugly...

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Permalink Reply by Greg Jones on November 11, 2008 at 7:24am

This is a little scary BUT - assuming the 84 finishes outside the top 10, in 3 point land, and neither leads a lap, RG just needs to be within 15 places of him. When you throw the 47 and 66 in the mix, there are a lot of ways to stay in the top 35.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Meyer on November 11, 2008 at 8:52am

Somehow, I would rather see the #84 (going to be the #82 in 09') locked in for next year than the #47. Let's hope that Martin does good enough to beat Ambrose, but RG runs a good enough race to beat both of them!! Then it's on to Baja!! Does anyone know if they are going to provide the race tracker for the 1000 as they did earlier this year for the 500? This is going to be a tough race with both the Baldwins, Steele, RG.. AWSOME!!

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Sweeney on November 11, 2008 at 10:44am

I'm sure Robby is more than well aware of what he has to do.

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Permalink Reply by T. Crane on November 11, 2008 at 11:30am

Jayski now reports that Martin will not be in the 84 at Homestead. Scott Speed is expected to drive it.......That would be welcome news for the 7 team.

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Permalink Reply by GrayAntiMatter on November 11, 2008 at 8:46pm

Still, Vickers is no slouch. But this is a better scenario for RGM.

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Permalink Reply by archeng on November 15, 2008 at 7:19am

Vickers qualified the 84. Martin's name isn't on the qualifying grid for any car.

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Permalink Reply by Nick on November 11, 2008 at 11:36am

My blood pressure is coming back to a reasonable level...

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Permalink Reply by Robby2Win7 on November 11, 2008 at 4:50pm

http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/8783142/Vickers,-Speed-to-swa...

In an effort to secure a spot among the top 35 in the owner's standings, Team Red Bull is playing musical chairs this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Brian Vickers will swap rides with teammate Scott Speed for the season finale. As a result, Vickers will have to qualify on time for Sunday's Ford 400 while Speed will be locked into the field no matter where he qualifies.

Currently, the No. 84 is 17 points behind 35th place in the standings. Being inside that threshold at the end of the season is valuable, as it guarantees a starting spot for the first five races of 2009, including the prestigious Daytona 500.

In 35 races this season, Vickers has three top fives, six top 10s and an average finish of 20.4. By comparison, Speed has an average finish of 34.2 in his four Cup starts.

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Permalink Reply by Matt on November 11, 2008 at 5:52pm

Red Bull Racing is a joke at this point. Scott Speed is more of a liability than anything.

I think RG should run a 2nd car with Monster sponsorship at Homestead with someone like Terry Labonte in it that would qualify for the past champions provisional. That would be hilarious. (Sadly I typically am a Red Bull supporter, but this crap is out of hand, either way Almendinger is laughing his ass off right about now)

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Permalink Reply by GrayAntiMatter on November 11, 2008 at 8:48pm

Absolutely nothing about RBR is a "joke" at this point.

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Permalink Reply by Matt on November 12, 2008 at 1:42am

I disagree, playing musical chairs with drivers after giving AJ the shaft of a one year contract with no guarantees is a joke. I have friends I went to school with that work for the team, they agree its a joke.