Red Bull to dump Toyota?

UPDATE #2 This rumor is downgraded to 'false' today. Despite speculation suggesting a switch to Chevrolet to boost its Cup performance, Team Red Bull reiterated its commitment to Toyota. "The rumor keeps coming up, but we are staying with Toyota," Team Red Bull vice president of competition Guenther Steiner said Friday. "We don't want to want leave Toyota, we want to stay with them and I hope I have to say it for the last time now."

09/21/07 NASCAR's Red Bull team could be leaving Toyota for Chevrolet as company czar Dietrich Mateschitz has been unhappy with the manufacturer's performance this season. A.J. Allmendinger, the former Champ Car World Series driver, and Brian Vickers are not the problem, according to Mateschitz. Indy Star

09/18/07 As the NASCAR Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship moves to the Monster Mile at Dover International Speedway Sunday there are negotiations taking place that seem to have slipped under the radar of most garage watchers.

Sun Media has been told that Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has been in discussions to switch manufacturers from Toyota next year.

Those in the know say that Mateschitz has been deeply disappointed about the results of both the No. 83 and No. 84 Red Bull Toyotas in the team's inaugural Cup season.

And he is not pointing the finger at either A.J. Allmendinger or Brian Vickers.

The general feeling among team members is that Toyota has not stepped up with the kind of technological and engineering support that the team expected when it signed on with the Japanese auto giant.

After a 33rd-place finish at New Hampshire International Speedway on Sunday, AJ Allmendinger expressed his frustration at the team's progress in the Toyotas.

"We have to get better. That is all there is to it," he said. "It is not fair to (the team) — they work their butts off day in and day out. I am frustrated that I could not give them a better finish than where we ended up. The only positive thing I can take away from the day is that we finished the race."

With Chevrolet losing Joe Gibbs Racing to Toyota next year, there certainly is room for Red Bull to fill that void in the Bow Tie brigade. Edmonton Sun