Red Bull hoping to race at Fontana

Both Red Bull Toyotas crashed in their respective Gatorade Duel qualifying races at Daytona, losing any chance to make the field as they had to qualify based on the results from the Duels, having no owner points from last year to rely on.

"We're heading to California with mixed emotions after Daytona," said Red Bull driver Brian Vickers. "The Bud Shootout was a great way to start the year because we had a competitive race car, led some laps and brought home a good finish [8th].

"But to blow a tire in the Duel and not get into the Daytona 500 — that was definitely a big disappointment for me and the whole team."

Vickers' teammate A.J. Allmendinger crashed out of his qualifying race after contact with Robby Gordon. He has yet to make the field for his first Nextel Cup race despite some Craftsman Truck Series experience.

Allmendinger is expected to take part in the truck event this weekend again to get some more miles under his belt at Fontana.

"The best thing we can do right now is exactly what we've been doing — building the best cars we can and racing them as best as we know how," says Vickers crew chief Doug Richert.

"There are a lot of smart, talented and experienced guys working on these cars. It's just a matter of time before we get our race cars competitive and get to where we want to be on the speed charts."

Both Red Bull cars will need to qualify on speed this Friday for Sunday's Auto Club 500 at the 2-mile California Speedway.