Red Bull, team's GM split: 'Irreconcilable differences'

Marty Gaunt, the architect of Red Bull's move into NASCAR's top series from the team's inception last year, has split with the organization he crafted over "irreconcilable differences in philosophy," according to an official release.

The Toyota-backed outfit entered this season with no owner points, and drivers Brian Vickers and A.J. Allmendinger have struggled just to make it until race day. Vickers, who scored a top-10 at California and a top-five in the Cola-Cola 600, has qualified for 12 of 21 Nextel Cup events this season. Allmendinger has made only eight races, and has missed six in a row dating to Michigan in June.

Those difficulties, Gaunt said, played a role in the split.

"I would say it's based on how we performed this year," Gaunt said. "Did we qualify for every race? No. That was disappointing. But we also had some really good runs. We finished in the top 10 at Daytona. It was in the Bud Shootout, not the 500, but the following week we went to California and finished 10th. We had some other good runs, had a shot at winning Charlotte and finished fifth. I think you look at it, once we got into the race, we were pretty strong with [Vickers'] 83 car."

Gaunt, who held the title of general manager at Red Bull, was the point man for the team's move into Nextel Cup, hiring competition director Elton Sawyer from Evernham Motorsports and technical director John Probst from Ford. He had previously worked with Kranefuss-Haas Racing and Penske Racing in the Nextel Cup Series, as well as other organizations on the ARCA, Busch and Craftsman Truck circuits.

Gaunt declined to specify what philosophical differences led to his split with Red Bull, saying only that he believes a team needs good chemistry to survive. Through a spokesperson, Red Bull declined to comment beyond its tersely-worded statement.

"My philosophy is about chemistry, it's about putting the right people in the right places. That's my philosophy," Gaunt said. "What their philosophy is, by putting out a statement like that, I would say you'd have to call there and ask them. I can't answer on their behalf."

Now Gaunt, who says he will look for other opportunities within the sport, has to watch the team he created go on without him.

"For me it's very disappointing. I can probably equate it to standing there on a Friday and watching us try to qualify for every event this year, which has been a gut-wrenching experience," he said. "We hired a lot of good people, and a lot of people I worked with in the past, and they're still there. I felt strongly about bringing those people onto the team, and now unfortunately I'm not there with them. I'm not there to be supportive and to guide and to be a part of the team, so it's very disappointing."