Catchfence

RED BULL RACING TEAM
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Who: Scott Speed (82 Red Bull Toyota), Brian Vickers (83 Red Bull Toyota)
What: Shelby 427 (Sprint Cup) / Sam’s Town 300 (Nationwide)
When: Friday-Sunday, Feb. 27-March 1, 2009
Where: Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas

+ SEASON STARTED IN FONTANA

The record books will show that it’s just another top-10 finish, but Brian Vickers knows the No. 83’s back-to-front effort in Sunday’s Auto Club 500 means much more.

“It was a tremendous accomplishment to finish where we did, coming from the back. The whole team worked hard. They deserve it,” Vickers said.

Vickers finished 10th at the 2-mile track, this after an engine change forced him to the rear after his sixth career pole and second with Red Bull Racing Team. But the team persevered after falling a lap down and worked to give Vickers his fourth top 10 at Auto Club Speedway.

“You can throw Daytona away, so this is a strong start to the season,” said Vickers, who climbed 14 spots in points to 26th. “A top 10 can really give this team some momentum and confidence heading into the intermediate tracks, which make up most of the sched

Indeed, the so-called intermediate tracks dot about half of the Sprint Cup Series schedule, including 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Vickers owns two top-10 starts in Sin City, with a best finish of 22nd in March 2006.

Teammate Scott Speed’s experience at Las Vegas is limited to one Camping World Truck start (21st in September 2008). He finished 41st in the Auto Club 500, and the No. 82 sits 42nd in the car owner standings.

+ ON THE NATIONWIDE SIDE

Scott Speed, in the No. 99 Red Bull Toyota, will make his Nationwide Series debut with Michael Waltrip Racing in Saturday’s Sam’s Town 300. Speed’s schedule calls for 13 Nationwide races this season, with the next coming March 21 at Bristol.

Brian Vickers, who claimed the Nationwide pole last season at Las Vegas, will return to Braun Racing’s No. 32 Toyota for the third consecutive week. He finished sixth in the season-opening race at Daytona and eighth last week at California.

+ CHEF SPEED

Never afraid to try new things, Scott Speed, along with fellow Raybestos rookie NASCAR drivers, will participate in a cooking challenge at 2 p.m. Thursday at the ESPN Zone.

The ESPN Zone culinary team, headed by executive chef Chris Gagen, will provide the rookies with an overview of cooking basics before each driver individually prepares their dishes. Kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas will be on hand to watch and judge the Iron Chef-style competition.

Other rookies include Max Papis, Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett, Scott Lagasse Jr. and John Wes Townley.
www.redbullracingusa.com

+ ASK VICKERS FOR YOURSELF

Brian Vickers has entered the realm of video Q&A via Red Bull and YouTube.com. Fans can ask Vickers the question they’ve always wanted by posting it on YouTube.com, and Vickers’ response will come the same way. We’ll let Vickers explain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=letQ23xIbw4

+ RED BULL: BY GROUND AND BY AIR

The Red Bull Energy Station makes its first appearance of 2009 outside turn three at Las Vegas.

The two-story, 5,000-square-foot structure offers a premium hospitality experience at select Sprint Cup events and caters to distinguished guests with its clean and contemporary style, superior food and drink and up-close view of on-track action.

Other Red Bull Energy Station stops include both Texas races, all three Charlotte weekends, Infineon and Indianapolis.

And guests at the Energy Station will have an excellent view of pre-race activities behind the backstretch that include the Red Bull’s aerobatic helicopter and stunt plane.

Piloted by veteran Chuck Aaron — the only pilot licensed in the United States by the Federal Aviation Administration to perform aerobatics once reserved for fixed-wing aircraft — the stock BO-105 CBS helicopter will perform stunts such as the Split-S, Immelman and Half Cuban Eight. At the controls of the stunt plane will be Kirby Chambliss, a two-time Red Bull Air Race World Series champion and winner of four U.S. national aerobatic titles.

Red Bull Racing Team, Press Release