From Jayski.com:

Four races for Skinner in the #84...hopefully: Mike Skinner envisions mentoring as the next phase in his NASCAR career, and what he did Friday was an important step toward ensuring that A.J. Allmendinger maintains his. Skinner quelled speculation about Allmendinger's benching by Red Bull Racing by making it clear he's just pinch-hitting for the struggling second-year Sprint Cup Series driver, who reiterated his commitment to NASCAR. Skinner then went out and fulfilled his primary duty by qualifying the #84 Toyota Camry 34th for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500, which will mark the car's first competition this season. Skinner's interim job description is getting the car into races and finishing in the top 35 to guarantee a spot in the field starting with the sixth race at Martinsville, Va. The hope is that Allmendinger, minus the pressure of having to race his way in, can take over from there and just drive. "We're planning on four races and hopefully that's all it's going to take," said Skinner, 50. "Hopefully we can go test somewhere (to the point) that I don't even get in the car and (Allmendinger) does all the driving, and I can talk to him and tell him some of those things I felt when I was in that situation and how I dealt with it. Hopefully, that will reduce some of that pressure. There's no question from anybody about this guy's ability to drive a car. Is it the race team? Is it the driver? Is it a combination? Is it too much pressure? That's what I'm here to evaluate. If A.J. succeeds, then I've succeeded." After winning five open-wheel races in 2006 in the since-disbanded Champ Car World Series, Allmendinger jumped to stock cars last season in start-up situations with Red Bull and Toyota. That combination has resulted in a series of hard knocks, with the start of his career delayed to the fifth race at Bristol and just 17 races in a 43rd-place ranking. This season Allmendinger has failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, while rain denied him an opportunity to make the field for the Auto Club 500 in California. He missed last week's race at Las Vegas despite being part of a "go or go home" group thought to have an advantage by going out after the top 35 drivers already locked in. Allmendinger and Skinner have a previous history as protégé and mentor dating back to Allmendinger's brief learning curve in the Truck series. He promised to stick by Skinner and absorb his expertise even harder this time, dismissing whispers that his struggles would send him back to America's reunited open wheel circuit. "No. I want to be here," Allmendinger said. "This is the place to race. The ultimate thing comes down to I know I have the ability to win races and win championships. We just need to get the ship turned around the right way. Mike doesn't want this job, he wants to help me."
Going out next to last in qualifying, Skinner knocked out former champion Bill Elliott to ensure the team's first tandem appearance this season. That led to a series of congratulations for the driver and Red Bull Racing general manager Jay Frye, who also expressed a sense of relief. "Mike did a phenomenal job for the program," Frye said. "He and Brian were running similar lap times in practice and that gave us a direction. That's what a multi-car team has to do to get better. What we're trying to figure out now is the direction the car needs to go because A.J. is a phenomenal talent and he can do this. We're just trying to catch our breath and hopefully get this thing pointed in the right direction and put him back in there, and 10 years from now we'll forget this even happened." (USA Today)(3-9-2008)