Brian Vickers, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, may have squeaked into the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs with only eight points to spare, but as all teams know at the beginning of the season – the goal is to make the Chase. Then the goal is to get the Cup. Vickers has not been blocked yet.
The playoffs are new turf for Vickers but fast racetracks are familiar ground.
Half way in the Sylvania 300 a lug nut problem in the pits cost the No. 83 team 19 spots, but the he improved quickly. Vickers did well to finish 11th near the top 10 but unfortunately seven Chase contenders finished in front of him in the first race. That’s a sure sign of the intensity of the competition at this huge point of a long season. Vickers understands.
“It’s not a bad way to start the Chase.” Vickers said. “It’s a good solid finish. We’re not making it any easier on ourselves as a team. We started the weekend off and had a lot of engine problems. We had a lot of problems in the pits and some other problems that I think cost us an opportunity at a top-five. We still rallied for close to a top-10 and I’m really proud of that, but if we want to win this championship, we have to stop beating ourselves.”
The actions of the 83 team after a bad pit stop echo the meaning by legendary driver and FOX TV commentator Darrell Waltrip’s comment on champions and the way they respond to adversity.
“I think the biggest thing is your persistence,” Waltrip said. “You're optimistic. You're tenacious. And you just never give up. Championships are won by teams that never give up, by teams that have that never-give up attitude. You break something -- you fix it, you go back out. If you have a bad attitude you're going to have a bad day. If you have a good attitude, you take a bad situation and you turn it in to something good.”
Jack Roush has two drivers in the Chase, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, and has known many champions, some an intricate part of his potent teams. Biffle finished ahead of Vickers.
“Champions have got to be gun fighters,” Roush said. “Champions have got to be conservative in a way. Champions have got to have the experience and the wisdom and the talent. Championships bring people together, a part of an elite group that develops over time to be a ferocious and vital influence.”
Vickers would agree to Roush’s words and found words to describe his first Chase race.
“It could’ve been a lot worse,” Vickers said. “We could’ve had a bad day. We could’ve been in a wreck, we could’ve blown a motor or we could’ve blown a tire. It could be a lot worse than we are. We’re pleased, but we’re not satisfied. We need to be better and I know that we can be better.”
Nine more races define the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion.
Photo credit: Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com
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