Team Red Bull Set To Make NASCAR Nextel Cup Debut

Red Bull Entry Hopes To Debut On Saturday

Team Red Bull plans to make its NASCAR Nextel Cup debut Saturday night in the Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway with Bill Elliott driving its No. 83 Dodge sponsored by the Victory Junction Gang Camp, according to the AP. Team Red Bull will field Toyotas next year. It will be the first of three races for the team this season. Team Red Bull and Elliott plan to donate race winnings to the camp and the No. 83 car and Elliott’s driver suit for auction (AP, 10/11).

LEAVING THE FORD GARAGE: The AP’s Mike Harris notes Nextel Cup driver Mark Martin is departing Roush Racing’s Ford team for MB2 Motorsports’ Chevrolet operation in ’07, leaving Ford teams in NASCAR “with precious few big names and lots of question marks just as yet another manufacturer, Toyota, is joining the competition.” Ford Racing Technology Dir Dan Davis: “The climate of NASCAR is changing, and we’ve, unfortunately, felt the brunt of it this season.” But Dale Jarrett said of his decision to leave Robert Yates Racing’s Ford team at the end of the season for Toyota’s Michael Waltrip Racing, “I was looking for opportunities beyond driving, and Toyota provided that, and Ford wasn’t willing to do that. ... They have to understand that when opportunities knock and you can’t match them, we have to be ready to make that move” (AP, 10/12).