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Lampoon of the Week: Brian Vickers
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NASCAR driver Brian Vickers was an innocent victim of a pair of wrecks last weekend at New Hampshire. And he certainly made sure to let everyone know it.
First came the run-in with his own Red Bull Racing teammate, Scott Speed, during a Nationwide Series race on Saturday. That was followed by a wreck in the Sprint Cup race on Sunday, when Vickers was caught in a nine-car crash triggered by Kyle Busch.
Of Speed, Vickers said, “I don’t know what his problem is. I don’t know if he’s frustrated because he runs so bad in the Cup series, but he just flat ran into us and wrecked us. I’ve never had a teammate do that to me before.’’
As for Busch?
“I saw the replay, and it looked like the 18 was just completely impatient,’’ Vickers said on Sunday. “I guess everybody just learns to expect Kyle doing something stupid. Stupid is forever.’’
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a little trash talk in NASCAR. The sport could use some controversy. But it’s always best to check your own glass house before throwing those stones.
Or has Vickers somehow forgotten his own history, including the only two times he found victory lane as a Cup driver?
In 2005, Vickers won the Nextel Open, the qualifier for the annual All-Star race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. But to win it, Vickers bumped Mike Bliss from behind on the final lap to knock him out of contention.
"That's what racing's about,’’ Vickers said at the time. “ I don't know what else to do. And I hate it for him. It was not intentional. It absolutely was not intentional. I wouldn't wreck him just to win the race; I wouldn't just spin somebody out.’’
Maybe not, but he did it again a year later. Vickers’s only Cup victory came in the fall race at Talladega in 2006, when he was running third on the final lap behind the leader Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson. Johnson made a move on the inside to pass Earnhardt, and Vickers got behind Johnson. Vickers tried to bump draft Johnson’s racecar, but instead sent Johnson’s No. 48 into a slide. The hit not only took Johnson out of contention, the slide collected Earnhardt, too, clearing a path for Vickers to win the race.
What’s worse, Vickers and Johnson were both racing for Hendrick Motorsports at the time. So Vickers took out his teammate, just as Speed took out Vickers last Saturday. And he did it when Johnson was in the middle of a battle to win his first championship at the time.
Remember Johnson’s reaction? He didn’t rip Vickers for being a lesser driver -- as Vickers did to Speed -- and he didn’t call Vickers stupid. This is what Johnson said: “I can't believe it. We had a great chance to make up some points and got crashed by a teammate.
“Knowing the situation we're all in, I would hope someone would be a little more patient.’’
Somewhere, there’s a lesson in there for Vickers.
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