All In All It's Just Another Name On The Wall

Hendrick Motorsports has a list on the wall at its museum, displaying the legendary names that have won for the team owned by Rick Hendrick.

After Mark Martin won Saturday's Nationwide Series race, Hendrick can add another name to the wall.

"I wanted to be involved in a race where Mark got a trophy for us," Hendrick said.

"He's an unbelievable talent. He's won more races in the Nationwide Series than anybody. I can't really put it into words because I've watched him and now I've seen him in our cars and watched how much talent he has. I think his fitness schedule, the type of person he is, the way he runs a car on hot tires, there is no doubt in my mind he could win a championship in either series. And the other thing is he's always praising the crew and tells them it's an honor.

"The honor is all ours. I get to add him to the wall and to win a race with him is really special to me. The other thing is how good he's been. He's a little bitty guy but he's pretty spunky."

Although it's Hendrick's car, it is actually in alliance with Dale Jr.'s JR Motorsports. So the win also counts as JR's first victory in the Nationwide Series.

"I got my first win as an owner with Mark Martin driving the car, which is ironic and exciting," Earnhardt said. "I met Mark at my dad's house when I was a 6-year-old kid and he taught me how to drive a car and the ethics out on the race track."

"I was only 6 when Mark Martin came over to my dad's house with a tape from one of his races at Nashville in the orange-and-white No. 2 car. We watched it on Beta to tell you how long ago that was. That's what a real race car driver looks like. I was learning and hadn't been around a lot of Cup guys. On top of that, he's a real great guy."

Red Bull considering sitting Allmendinger

After failing to make the first three races of the season, A.J. Allmendinger may be temporarily removed from his Toyota as Red Bull Racing tries simply to get the car into some races.

While former Champ Car star Allmendinger has struggled in his two seasons of Cup racing, teammate Brian Vickers has made all three races this season and ranks 13th in the standings.

"We can't keep missing races," said Red Bull Racing general manager Jay Frye. "We're looking at several different ideas, all aimed at figuring out what's wrong with that program, how we can fix it and how we can get that car into races. But it can't continue the way it is. It just can't."

One option includes replacing Allmendinger with a veteran driver that can help the team qualify and shake down the car in the races.

But Frye emphasized the team isn't giving up on Allmendinger.

"We love A.J. and we're 100 percent committed to him and want to develop him," Frye said. "This is not at all giving up on A.J. But we just can't do nothing and risk having a season like that team had last year."

The 25-year-old Allmendinger qualified for 17 of 36 races last season with his best finish being a 15th-place showing at Charlotte in October. The team is attempting to find him rides in the Nationwide Series with Joe Gibbs Racing or Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates so he can get more stock car experience.

"He needs seat time, there's no question about that," Frye said. "But it takes time to put it all together and we're working on it. We want A.J. in as many races as we can get him into, and we want him to gain as much experience as he can."