NASCAR ROUNDUP \ News and notes

Allmendinger to sit out Atlanta: Mike Skinner will replace AJ Allmendinger at Red Bull Racing for this weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Skinner, a former Cup driver who now races full time in the Truck Series, will attempt to qualify the No. 84 Toyota for Sunday’s race. Allmendinger, who was testing Monday at Phoenix International Raceway, was disappointed but understood the decision. “Let’s not kid ourselves. I’m a racer and I want to be racing, but I get the big picture here and obviously we need to improve our program,” he said. “Do I want to be out of the car? No. But, I know Skinner can help both me and my team. All I can say is he better be prepared for me to eat, drink, and sleep with him. OK, well maybe not the sleeping part, but I’m ready to attach myself to him and learn everything I can.” Allmendinger failed to qualify for last week’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, making him 0-for-3 on the season. Teammate Brian Vickers has made all three races in the other Red Bull car.

RWR gets rare appeals victory: A NASCAR appeals committee overturned all the penalties levied against Rusty Wallace Racing for an infraction discovered on David Stremme’s car before the season-opening Nationwide Series race. Stremme was docked 25 points, car owner Ed Rensi was docked 25 points and crew chief Steve Darne was suspended six races and fined $15,000 because NASCAR said the cover on the oil tank was not securely fastened following qualifying at Daytona. Wallace appealed, and the three-member National Stock Car Racing Commission ruled that the cover was indeed fastened. “All bolts appeared to be fully engaged,” the panel wrote in its 2-1 decision. “The slight deflection at one corner of the cover which gave rise to the penalty was arguable, given the overall design of the oil tank reservoir encasement.” It was a rare reversal by a panel that usually upholds most NASCAR penalties. In the 96 hearings held over the past eight years, the commission upheld 66 decisions. In two instances, the original penalty was increased. The violation is similar to one that was found on Carl Edwards’ car following his victory Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. NASCAR said the cover to the oil tank was not attached following the win, and the parts were sent back to North Carolina for review.

NASCAR to Europe? ”NASCAR comes to Europe,” reads a headline out of the weekend’s Paris Tuning and Racing Show, an annual car show. But none of the four NASCAR manufacturers here, or any of the Sprint Cup tour teams mentioned, seems to know anything about it. However, the Web site for a proposed 13-race series this season, at a variety of European tracks, including Brands Hatch, Rockingham and Lauztisring, opens with glossy photos of the Bill Davis-Dave Blaney Toyota. Where the cars for this series might come from is unclear. But a similarly mysterious NASCAR-type series is already under way in the Far East, under the logo SpeedCar, with typical NASCAR stock cars built in North Carolina, featuring some ex-Formula One drivers.

Combined dispatches