A.J. Allmendinger was back behind the wheel of his No. 84 Red Bull Toyota last week at Talladega and proved his time off was well spent. Team Red Bull announced at Atlanta Motor Speedway that Mike Skinner would climb behind the wheel while Allmendinger refocused on making races. The time off was tough for Allmendinger but definitely a much needed learning experience.

Last week, Allmendinger was back in the driver\'s seat and showed he can turn the wheel, qualifying in the fourth spot. The Red Bull Toyota worked well in the draft and stayed out of trouble for much of the afternoon.

Unfortunately for the California-native, his return was spoiled by a last lap wreck that relegated him to a 30th place finish. This week the team headed to the Iowa Speedway to prepare for this weekend's race at Richmond. Allmendinger explained the team was experimenting with bump stops and different set-ups at that any time behind the wheel was a plus.

Richmond has been a great track for the sophomore driver he was able to qualify for both races at RIR in 2007 and he is looking forward to Saturday night's event. This is a track I've run well on in the past we qualified for both races here last year, the 26-year-old explained. Mired in 40th in Owner Points, Allmendinger will once again have to lay down a fast lap in Friday's qualifying session in order to make the show.

Looking at Allmendinger, you can tell he has a bounce in his step and is confident heading into the weekend, with a bit of luck and hard work it might just pay off.