Red Bull Benches Allmendinger, Skinner In

A.J. Allmendinger hasn't made a Sprint Cup series race yet in 2008 and announcement Monday by the team will make that impossible to change in the time being.

Mike Skinner, a Toyota driver from the Craftsman Truck Series, will instead take over temporary duties in the No. 84 Toyota.

From the team's blog, the "Stock Car Ticker":

"We're at a crossroads where we need to make a change that will elevate the No. 84 team to success," said VP and General Manager Jay Frye.

"AJ's our guy and he's a talented driver, but there's a lot being asked of him. In order for him to be successful, we have to get this team pointed in the right direction. We hope we can do that with the help of a veteran driver."

Skinner got a start last weekend at Las Vegas in another Sprint Cup Toyota, Bill Davis Racing's No. 27. Hew qualified the car 5th and wound up 30th, 2 laps down.

Skinner's role in the car will be to help the team make some races to battle for an owner points position inside the Top-35 to help guarantee the Toyota makes race. Additionally, he'll try to help the team evaluate their program from a veteran's prospective.

Allmendinger's teammate Brian Vickers has qualified for each race this season, and after a miserable campaign in 2007, the team simply cannot afford to miss races in a regular fashion.