Brian Vickers is hoping 2008 is better than 2007.

Today we will be looking at teams 38 and 37. In the 38th position in owner’s points is the 83 Red Bull Racing Toyota, driven by Brian Vickers and owned by Dietrich Mateschitz. The no. 83 has had a disappointing year to say the least. Vickers is a promising driver, but the sub-par equipment put the hurt on Team Red Bull.

Both Red Bull teams struggled to make races this season, and Vickers missed several. His teammate A.J. Allmendinger fared even worse. As other Toyotas this season, they were behind the mechanical ball right out of the gate.

Things seemed promising, though, with the placement of Doug Richert as Vickers’s crew chief. Many may not know that Richert led Dale Earnhardt to the 1980 Winston Cup Championship at the tender age of 20, the youngest crew chief to achieve that feat. Richert’s long tenure had ended at Roush Fenway Racing, and Red Bull was eager to put experience on their side.

At Daytona testing, Vickers took over for the hapless Allmendinger. In March, Vickers suffered first and second degree burns on his feet and bottom inside his overheated cockpit. He was forced to sit out some testing as he healed. In April, well-liked team mechanic Jimmy Sprinkle was murdered.

In June, the No. 83 failed post-qualifying inspection by one-eighth of an inch. Vickers’s time was disallowed and he was forced to withdraw from the field. In early August, team manager Marty Gaunt left the team, which also gave rise to the rumor that Red Bull might switch to Chevrolet. That rumor surfaced again when Joe Gibbs Racing announced they were switching to Toyota in 2008, and some looked to Red Bull to take the empty spot in the Bow Tie Brigade’ stable. This was denied again in September.

In late October, crew chief Richert and Red Bull reached a separation agreement and the team’s R&D director, Randy Cox, was named the crew chief for the rest of the season.

With all these setbacks, it is clear that 2008 will be a year of refocusing, rebuilding and growth at Team Red Bull. Look for Toyota in general to be stronger with the addition of Joe Gibbs Racing. JGR has resources and talent galore, and this in turn will help all of the Toyota teams.

Finishing 37th in owners’ points is the No. 10 Stanley/Valvoline Dodge, driven by Scott Riggs and owned by James Rocco for Gillett Evernham Racing. The year started badly for GEM (formerly Evernham Motorsports). While at Daytona, all three of the GEM cars were penalized and fined for infractions found prior to qualifying for the Daytona 500. Rodney Childers, team director for the No. 10, was fined $25,000 and was suspended two races.

For a company struggling already with financing, this fine was a hard hit for the GEM boys. Adding insult to injury, the teams would later find out that their engineering department had badly skewed aerodynamics data and had essentially started the season in ill-handling cars. Those cars were used until late July before the bad data was discovered.

In an attempt to help the No. 10 find speed, GEM switched back and forth between the still-legal 2006 nose and the 2007 nose. The No. 10 struggled mightily, having to make its way into the field on time most weekends. Contract talks began to surface, and in June, Ray Evernham was talking about signing Riggs into 2008.

By early July, though, Kyle Busch had announced he was looking for another team and GEM unabashedly courted him. Talk of a fourth team had come and gone, most likely smothered under the weight of three underperforming teams. Riggs’s status was not quite as sunny then, as Ray Evernham talked about Busch potentially joining his team.

Major changes were coming to GEM’s infrastructure as the deal to sign with George Gillett closed on August 6. Days after this announcement, Canadian Patrick Carpentier was signed for a one-race deal at Watkins Glen International. Evernham still claimed he wanted Riggs for 2008. The No. 10 continued to struggle, missing several races during the summer when Riggs had to qualify on time as a result of being outside of the top 35 in owners’ points.

Riggs’s contract was officially up on August 1, but he continued to drive for the team. It seemed that change was in the air as Riggs acknowledged speaking to other teams. Meanwhile, rumblings that Carpentier would sign for the No. 10 in 2008 began to surface, and the writing on the wall was probably clear to Riggs.

Shakeups began at Haas/CNC racing and it was apparent that the current drivers would be released. On October 3, Riggs was announced as one of that team’s new drivers. A week later, Carpentier was officially introduced as the driver of the No. 10 in 2008. Riggs continued to attempt to make the races, but his efforts were not enough to keep him in the car past Texas. Carpentier picked up driving duties at Phoenix.

Once the announcement of the driver change came, team director Rodney Childers was moved to the No. 19 of Elliott Sadler. Childers took over for de facto team director Scott McDougal. McDougal’s role on race day was not altogether clear, as Evernham himself had essentially taken over the pit box and radio for Sadler. Childers may find a permanent home at the No. 19.

No crew chief has been named for the No. 10 at this time, but it is expected that Komatsu Equipment will take over for Valvoline next year. Carpentier is an experienced racer but has a steep learning curve with stock cars. He is building his knowledge base, though, and he joins a phalanx of foreign-born drivers into NASCAR’s top series. He will have to run well immediately, as the team does not have the coveted guaranteed spots for the first five races of the year. If Carpentier can get the car into the top 35 and away from the borderline, it will be quite an accomplishment for this team and will provide some much needed cheer for the No. 10 crew.

Next week we will look at teams 36 and 35. Find out who is on the bubble and who made it!