Working On My Redneck ™ » brian vickers

There Appears To Be Some “Smoke” On The Horizon

Leon — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:06:29 +0000

(WOMR file photo)

Time is ticking!

When the well versed NASCAR race fan thinks of Martinsville Speedway, one can only think of time.

This race track has been on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule ever since it’s inception in 1948. Martinsville Speedway has withstood the test of time, and is one of the most historic tracks on the schedule. It was also the seventh race in the Chase, therefore, just leaving three races left in the season. One could say that time is now running out on the Chase contenders to make their championship bid.

Tick, tick, tick…………………..

To some, time equates to patience, which at a NASCAR short track is always in very short supply, especially at Martinsville. To win races on the short tracks of NASCAR one must bide their time and, therefore, exercise patience. By doing that you will, most likely, be able to keep the fenders on the race car, drive your car onto the hauler, generally have a good day at the track, and quite possibly leave the track with a race win.

In a race that looked more like the “Brian Vickers Destruction Derby” than a NASCAR Chase race, the “patience” part of the race was in very short supply today! It appeared that Vickers has watched “Days of Thunder” way too many times! Throughout the course of 500 hundred laps today, Vickers took great pride in hitting anything that was moving on, or near, the racing surface! The only thing that escaped his “cross hairs” was the pace car! Quite frankly, I am not so sure that he gave the pace car a bye, I truly think that he tried but failed miserably to include the pace car in his tally of carnage!

Today the sponsor, Tums, could have sold a ton of product just to the race car drivers! The Tums Fast Relief 500 held up to its image of beatin’, bangin’, and wreckin”!

Sunday, as time was running out, and with only three laps remaining, Tony Stewart passed Jimmie Johnson to win the Tums Fast Relief 500 at the Martinsville Speedway. This is the third victory this season for Stewart, all of those victories have come in the Chase races. Additionally, this is the 42nd career victory for Smoke, who issued a warning to the Chase leader, Carl Edwards in victory lane.

Stewart issues a challenge!

“He’d better be worried,” Stewart said of Edwards after the race, “that’s all I can say. He’s not going to have an easy three weeks.” The gauntlet has been thrown down!

Miraculously, after twice being lapped on the race track, Edwards salvaged a decent run and retained his lead in the Chase standings with a ninth-place finish, as his two closest pursuers entering the race, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski, both experienced late trouble and finished 31st and 17th, respectively.

With just three races left in the Chase, it would appear that it is now a four horse race, absent one of the following four faltering next week at Texas. Edwards leaves Martinsville with just a slim 8 point lead over Tony Stewart, who surged up two places in the standings with this victory. Kevin Harvick still lurks just 21 points back resting in third place. “Blazingly Bad Brad” Keselowski rests in fourth place now 27 points back of the leader. Matt Kenseth slid back three places to fifth place in the Chase down 36 points. In spite of finishing second today, Jimmie Johnson sits in sixth the Chase 43 points, on full race, behind the Chase leader.

Here is the unofficial results of the Tums Fast Relief 500.

Check out the Chase standings after the Tums Fast Relief 500.

Time is still ticking……

Twelve drivers, now three races, one championship, who will be the last man standing?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

NASCAR “Free Agents” Still Undecided On Future

Leon — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:26:34 +0000

(workingonmyredneck file photo)

Now that the biggest of free agent has re-signed with Roush-Fenway, with big financial help from Ford Motor Company, the Carl Edwards story is finished. According to Jack Roush, Ford Motor Company stepped up to offer Carl Edwards an incentive program, including Ford stock that would that would come to fruition in the third year of the contract!

Still unsettled contractually, Clint Bowyer has yet to finalize his plans with Richard Childress Racing for 2012. It is widely assumed that Bowyer will re-sign with RCR for 2012, even though there are some sponsorship questions that still need to be finalized.

Likewise, Juan Pablo Montoya has yet to commit to another year with Target Chip Ganassi. Like Bowyer, it is expected that JPM will continue driving for EGR #42 Target Chevy in 2012.

However, the future of Brian Vickers is completely up in the air. Since Red Bull Racing has stated that they are pulling out of NASCAR as a race team, Vickers is scouring the garage area for employment opportunities for 2012. In looking at all the powerhouse race teams for 2012, it would appear that “there is no room at the inn” for Vickers! Unless Vickers can bring substantial sponsorship that would allow an established race organization to start a third or fourth team, like Joe Gibbs Racing and/or Stewart-Haas Racing, Vickers may be relegated to an underfunded less competitive race team for 2012.

Now Mark Martin’s future may possibly involve many twists and turns. It is a given that he is out of the Hendrick Motorsports #5 GoDaddy.com Chevy at the end the 2011 season. That is the only thing that is factual. However, there could be many possibilities that Martin could be dealing within deciding his future. First, Martin could get involved in ownership of a Sprint Cup team. There has been some garage rumors stating that Martin could get involved in a partnership ownership status, possibly with a group to take over the Red Bull Racing team. Secondly, Martin is running a very limited Nationwide and Camping World Truck schedule with Turner Motorsports, that could be part of his future plans as well. Could that be where Martin lands for the 2012 season, running a part-time schedule in both series? Could his future be a Sprint Cup team owner and part-time competitor in Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and/or Camping World Trucks series?

What are your thoughts on where these “free agents” may land next year? The possibilities are endless!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Mears Out Sorenson In At Red Bull

Leon — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 23:04:16 +0000

(photo courtesy Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Red Bull Racing announced on Wednesday that Reed Sorenson will replace Casey Mears beginning June 27 at the Louden N.H. race. Mears had been driving for Brian Vickers while he is recuperating from blood clots. vickers has opted out of the rest of the race season on doctor’s orders.

“Our unique situation has afforded us the opportunity to try some different things and we’re continuing to do that with Reed,” Jay Frye, Red Bull’s vice president and general manager, said in a press release.

It looks like Red Bull Racing is having a difficult time finding an adequate replacement for Vickers in the #83 Red Bull Toyota.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Vickers Out For Months, Possibly

Leon — Thu, 20 May 2010 18:15:14 +0000

(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

From espn.com:

Sprint Cup driver Brian Vickers is expected to miss at least three months while undergoing treatment for blood clots, a source close to the situation told ESPN.com on Wednesday.

Red Bull Racing officials said they continue to wait for final recommendations from doctors and that details of Vickers’ prognosis will be announced on Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where the 26-year-old driver and general manager Jay Frye will appear at a news conference.

Casey Mears replaced Vickers last weekend at Dover International Speedway and finished 22nd. Mears again will drive the No. 83 in Saturday night’s All-Star Race after Red Bull requested a driver change on Wednesday.

Red Bull officials said Vickers is responding well to treatment and continues to undergo tests in Charlotte, where he returned after being released from an undisclosed Washington, D.C., hospital on Friday night.

Vickers’ former boss, Rick Hendrick, said Wednesday on his Amp Energy video conference that he has spoken to Vickers.

“We are good friends and I actually hooked him up with my doctor,” Hendrick said on the chat. “He’s doing well. They have to be careful. When you’re dealing with blood clots you have to be extremely careful.”

On the advice of the team’s physician, Vickers — who was complaining of chest pains — entered a Washington hospital last Wednesday night. It was discovered several clots had developed in his veins, including one in or around his lungs and one in his legs.

Vickers was immediately put on high dosages of medication to thin his blood and break up the clots. When it became apparent he would not be able to drive at Dover, Red Bull officials contacted Mears upon Vickers’ recommendation.

Team officials have not used a specific medical term in defining Vickers’ condition. Dr. Victor Tapson, an associate professor for the division of pulmonary medicine at Duke University and co-chair of the Council for Leadership on Thrombosis Awareness and Management, and two other doctors said Vickers’ symptoms are a sign of deep vein thrombosis with a pulmonary embolism.

Tapson, who is not treating Vickers, described the driver’s condition as life-threatening and said the length of treatment ranges from three to six months to possibly a lifetime. He added that Vickers was lucky somebody sent him to the hospital so quickly.

“Most people die before they’re diagnosed,” Tapson said last week. “Most people that die aren’t even expecting it. Once it’s diagnosed you’re certainly not out of the woods, but you’re ahead of the game.”

Tapson said he was surprised more drivers don’t develop clots because immobility is one of the contributing factors in clotting and drivers are confined to a tight space and have little motion for long periods of time.

He said the concern for Vickers is that if taken off blood thinners a clot could develop, move to the brain and be fatal. He said if left on blood thinners, any sort of accident on the track that causes trauma could result in the driver bleeding to death.

“Usually when we treat this we treat it with blood thinners,” Tapson said. “Usually people on blood thinners, if it’s what we call a reversible risk factor, you treat them for three months, sometimes six months.

“If you decide the patient has a continual list of blood clots then sometimes they take medicine for a lifetime. A lot may depend on what is his apparent risk. If they can’t come up with any reason why he has a blood clot other than being a race car driver, then the option may be don’t race cars anymore.”

It appears that Vickers’ condition is more serious than originally thought. The doctor’s take on Brian’s condition could signal that his racing career may be over, or at least put on hold for a while. This definitely puts Red Bull Racing at a huge disadvantage for the rest of the race season.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Where There Is Smoke….

Leon — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:45:26 +0000

(photo by Tony Bush)

Kansas is the home of Dorothy, Todo, and the Wizard of Oz. But on Sunday Tony Stewart made himself right at home with his fourth victory of the 2009 season. After leading the points for the “regular season”, and kind of sputtering in the final 4 races before the Chase started, it now seems that the SHR #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevy has gotten itself back on track.

Even though Stewart wasn’t the dominate car Sunday, he and his pit crew rose to the occasion in the final pit stop of the race. On that final pit stop, his crew was able to get him off pit road quickly enough to assume the lead for, what was to be, the last restart of the race. That, my friends was all “Smoke” need to hold off the charge of Jeff Gordon and the rest of the top five finishers.

With the culmination of the Kansas race there were four teams that have watched their chances of winning the championship go up “in smoke”! The #83 Red Bull Racing Toyota of Brian Vickers is now 250 points behind the leader, Mark Martin, and their chances have all but evaporated for winning the championship in 2009. The Richard Petty Motorsports #9 Budweiser Dodge, likewise, is 190 points behind the leader and stands an extremely slim chance of catching Mark Martin. Additionally, the Roush-Fenway Racing #99 Aflac Ford is 165 points behind the leader and has a slim to no chance at all of charging to the front of the pack. Lastly, the Kansas race has dashed the hopes of the SHR #39 Army Chevy driven by Ryan Newman of winning the championship in 2009.

Could this be the year that an owner/driver wins the championship? It has been since 1992 when Alan Kulwicki pulled off that fete.

But where there is “SMOKE” there could be fire!! SSSSSSSSSS!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Rivalries?

Leon — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:32:22 +0000

(photo from nascar.com)

Are these faces the faces of the new rivalries of NASCAR?

Wouldn’t you know it, Kyle Busch is caught up in another NASCAR mini soap opera! Last year it was the Kyle Busch-Carl Edwards Show. For a while those two were seemingly always battling for the same piece of real estate on the race track. Now I am not a student of physics, but I am reasonably sure that it is a physical impossibility for two masses to occupy the very same piece of real estate at the same time. However, those two were trying desperately to rewrite the science books!

Fast forward to the 2009 racing season, ol Kylie has invited another to the fracas, Brian Vickers. After Saturday’s Nationwide race, in which Vickers and Busch dueled to the bitter end only to have been snookered by one Brad Keselowski for the win. So ol Kylie has gone on the offense with his tongue towards Brian Vickers and his ability to drive race cars.

Two weeks ago, at The Glen, Kyle Busch (aka The Las Vegas Weasel, TLVW) lashed out at Marcos Ambrose after he put a classic “banzai” move on TLVW at the “Bus Stop” chicane. Ambrose was so clean, clever,and fast, that TLVW said that he never even saw Ambrose make his move!

So it appears that because Busch is not winning as easily and as often as he did in 2008, his penchant for attacking and whining is greatly enhanced!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

No Bull, It Is Red Bull!

Leon — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:12:26 +0000

( photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)

Michigan was an exciting weekend for Brian Vickers, to say the least! It culminated in the victory of the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway Sunday, the second in his Cup career.

As is the case of late with the races at Michigan International Speedway, Sunday proved to be a day requiring a fast motor, good fuel mileage, in addition to having a good handling hot rod!

On Saturday, Brian Vickers showed the field that he had a very fast piece. At the end of qualifying, it was the #83 Red Bull Racing Toyota driven by the young gun, former Busch Series Champion (Nationwide Series), Brian Vickers sitting at the top of the speed chart and on the pole for the Carfax 400!

As the race was coming to the closing stages of the 400 miles, the caution flags were not falling as some crew chiefs had planned in their pre-race preparation. So in a move that was, to say the least, a very risky decision, crew chief Ryan Pemberton elected to keep Vickers out on the track and try to STRETCH the fuel run out to the very finish of the race. It truly was a “ROLL THE BONES” maneuver! That winner-take-all, very gutsy call ended up taking the #83 Red Bull Racing Toyota team to Victory Lane!

With his Carfax 400 victory neatly tucked under his belt, Vickers has moved to with 12 points from that coveted top 12 that will be in The Chase for the Cup!

Additionally today the news broke that Red Bull Racing FINALLY put their signature on a multi year contract with their top driver, Brian Vickers. They have been dragging their heels for months. Meanwhile in their stalling around, Vickers has scored five polls and now a victory for Red Bull Racing.

Anybody know what the heck the Austrian CEO of Red Bull and Red Bull Racing was waiting for??

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!