NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
  • Peg It on GarageMonkey
CUP: Red Bull Closes Doors
After five seasons, Red Bull Racing has ended its run in the Sprint Cup Series…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted December 08, 2011   Charlotte, NC
Red Bull Racing has folded its NASCAR operation. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Red Bull Racing’s NASCAR operation closed its doors Thursday, ending a five-year experiment that yielded only two Sprint Cup victories.

The remaining 100-plus employees at the team shop worked their final day.

Kasey Kahne, one of the team drivers, has moved on to Hendrick Motorsports to begin the next stage of his career in the team’s No. 5 Chevrolets. Brian Vickers, Red Bull’s other driver in the team’s final season, does not have a ride for next year.

Vickers and Kahne both won races in Red Bull Toyotas – Vickers in 2009 at Michigan and Kahne several weeks ago at Phoenix.

Kahne finished Red Bull’s final season with a rush, posting a 7.9 average finish in the Chase races and winding up 14th in points. Vickers finished 25th in points.

Red Bull, the international energy drink that has funded successful motorsports operations in other series (and in other sports), decided to try the team ownership route when it debuted in NASCAR in 2007. The company’s success in other fields did not transfer.

The team struggled to gain its footing and rolled through two and one-half seasons before Vickers posted its first win in 2009. The team had only four top fives – all by Vickers – in its first two years.

Vickers and AJ Allmendinger were the team’s drivers in the first season. Allmendinger departed in 2008, and Scott Speed came on board. Speed was dismissed by the team last season, and Vickers wrestled through a tough year after being sidelined by health issues.

The parent organization decided this year to either sell or close the operation, and general manager Jay Frye has been seeking investors to keep the Mooresville, N.C., team afloat.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 29 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
mike.hembree's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Hembree

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2013

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.