The final run Brian Vickers made into the Chase will go down as one of the best ever. Over the 8 races leading up to the Chase, nobody scored more points than Vickers, who earned 6 top 10s and a win at Michigan during that stretch. By all means, a run that propelled him into his first ever Chase for the Sprint Cup.
But if you want to single out the one race that may have earned Vickers his Chase spot, you need not look any further than the first race of the season: The Daytona 500.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Vickers crashed out of that race, finishing 39th. But let me take you back to that fateful lap that, at the time, infuriated the Red Bull driver.
It’s lap 123 of the Daytona 500. Elliott Sadler is the leader. Two positions behind him is the driver that has dominated the day: Kyle Busch. On the inside, it’s Vickers, one lap down, with a frustrated Dale Earnhardt Jr. storming up behind him. Earnhardt, also a lap down, attempts to make a pass on Vickers. Vickers blocks, forcing Earnhardt below the yellow line.
What happens next is the defining moment of Vickers’ season.
Earnhardt taps Vickers once, then turns him head-on in front of about 35 cars. The first one that hits him: Kyle Busch, who suffers far more damage to his Toyota than does Vickers. In all, 12 cars are collected in this accident. But for the time being, nobody else matters. It’s just these two. The final Chase spot came down to these two drivers, who, in the end, were separated by a mere 8 points.
What’s interesting is that, in this rare case, we are not looking at who gained more points, but rather who lost less. Busch was likely going to finish in the top 5, if not win. Had everything played out just as it did in February, it is very likely that Busch, not Kenseth, would’ve been leading the train past Elliott Sadler on the final green flag lap of the race, while Vickers would have very likely still been a lap down. Or, at best, near the back of the lead lap.
Comparing these results, placing Busch as the winner and Vickers as the last car on the lead lap, with the actual race results, Busch lost 145 points, while Vickers lost 24. That’s 121 points that Busch lost to Vickers.
Let’s say that Busch won the race, and Vickers climbed all the way up to, say 20th, which is generous considering where he ran all day. Under those circumstances, Busch would have gained 87 points on Vickers. Even if Vickers finished 2nd, Busch still would have gained 25 points on him(assuming Vickers didn’t lead a lap and Busch led the most).
Instead, Busch gained just 4 points on Vickers. Count ‘em, 4. Even under the second scenario, that’s 21 points that Busch could’ve gained that just slipped away.
He needed 8.
I bet if you would’ve told Brian Vickers when 35 cars were coming at him broad-side in the first race of the season that it would be the best thing that happened to him all year, he would’ve quit Team Red Bull and NASCAR to join the National Guard. Instead, as irony would have it, it was the move that helped him make his first ever Chase for the Sprint Cup.
And now, for the first time, he can thank Dale Earnhardt Jr. for wrecking him out of the Daytona 500.
FanSided
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Hey there hopper -
“Earnhardt taps Vickers once, then turns him head-on in front of about 35 cars.”
OH YEAH let’s just make it seem like Jr did that on purpose – don’t bother to explain that Vickers was blocking him. Actually pushed Jr down into the grass! No different that what happened to Carl when he blocked Keselowski.
Dale Jr is not the type of driver who spins a guy in front of the pack at Daytona.
I know the article is about Vickers, but for the uninfotmed {and there are quite a few} that one sentence without a better explanation is just not right!
That’s why I added my two cents.
What a dumb article. Yeah I really think that’s what got him into the chase, NOT! Can’t you find something better to write about?
West Coast Gal, I actually did mention in the article that Vickers threw a block. In fact, I mentioned that before the sentence you referred to. Junior then tapped Vickers once, and then turned him head on in front of a pack of about 35 cars. That’s how it went down. That said, I do appreciate you adding your two cents. Thanks for reading!
Deanna, what? I never said that race alone got him into the Chase. I said if you want to SINGLE OUT a race, to look at Daytona. I then used the next 10 paragraphs to explain my theory. As for finding something better to write about, it’s difficult to come by right now seeing as the Mayfield saga has been in a lull now since August. So I have to try and be creative
Thanks for reading!
Hey Hopper and other responders,
I think the argument can be made that this incident defined Dale Jrs. season too. His whole year has been spotted with slight miscalculations such as missing his pit more than once and on-track incidents with other cars. Dale has admitted he has lost focus at times. I also believe that there is no way in today’s NASCAR that any (super) team such as Hendrick, Roush, Gibbs, or even Childress will place four cars in a 12-car Chase. I know others can say the 14 and 39 cars are part of Hendrick, but Tony’s and Ryan’s teams had to perform at very high levels to complement two Chase-worthy drivers. I really like Brian Vickers. He, like Dale Jr. now, lived under the “fourth car curse” at Hendrick Motorsports. When Vickers won at Talledega for Hendrick where Jimmy Johnson cried that Vickers spun him out, that was an aero deal that was totally unavoidable, especially at a restrictor plate track. Brian is very bright, articulate, and fearless, as well as an excellent driver. Kind of like a Jeremy Mayfield who, unlike Jeremy, thinks before he speaks! Both speak the truth, but Brian will not piss off people who control his future!
Steve….You said Jeremy’s name..BUT… NO THANKS for the unkind remarks about Jeremy. Now WHY did you have to do that?
If you want to talk about Jeremy do an unbiased column about him. Jeremy is a fine person who has had an interesting life.Jeremy’s has gotten farther than some in his life.Jeremy doesn’t need people writing biased things about him.
Jeremy has won races, made the chase 2 times,won poles,5 races and is very fan appreciative. Lots of people have met Jeremy and like him very much.
I don’t think that Jeremy will be comming to you to write about his future happinesses, when he wants the story told.
Go Jeremy, there are people who believe in you,and know that you are teling the truth.Go Jeremy!!!!
Hey Hilda, I appreciate you defending Mayfield on here as well. It’s good to have another member on this side of the fence. As for Steve, I can tell you that he probably did not mean to insult Mayfield. He’s taken my side on the Mayfield battle several times. He’s right, Jeremy has ticked a few people off that controlled his future because he didn’t think first(though I can’t blame him for either the Evernham or NASCAR issue). But I’m sure he wasn’t trying to put Jeremy down. Right Steve?
Absolutely right, Hopper! And Hilda, I think you have minimized my point in comparing Brian and Jeremy that “both speak the truth”. And when I say that Jeremy doesn’t think before he speaks, that is not a put-down of him, but it shows that he has a higher regard for the truth than even his own future in NASCAR. Very few have that commitment. I have a lot of empathy for Jeremy because he has no fear to tell it like he thinks it is, which is totally antithetical to the unwritten rules of NASCAR. And what he thinks it is usually is much closer to the truth than the spin that comes from the teams and individuals in “favor”. I believe I have likened Jeremy’s situation to other thorns in NASCAR’s side from the past, such as Smokey Yunick and Tim Richmond, people that the steamroller that is the France family crushes over time. I still think that Mayfield was right on target with the Evernham/Crocker romance from the beginning, and that Penske was concentrating on whiner Rusty Wallace’s cars when JM and RW were Roger’s drivers. I still think Jeremy represents the truth of what was said in “Easy Rider”, that America says they believe in individual freedom, but when they see a free individual, they get scared, and they get mean! One of my most prized memories of NASCAR past is when Jeremy out-Earnhardted Earnhardt on the last lap of Pocono to take the win! Hooper, thanks for your understanding of my point, but we have somewhat of a history where you have gotten how I think.
Steve, Hopper,
Thanks for being there for Jeremy.It’s usually 4 against him and 2 for him. The insults that some people write in the comments section of an article are just awful, make no sense and stupid. Yes, Jeremy got the tag’thew them under the bus’ in ‘06.Like you said ,people didn’t know the truth. Jeremy was driving r&d cars, with no what-so-ever help from both the owners mentioned.It takes a good person to know the truth and state it. Jeremy is clean from drugs, Jeremy just wants to race. Nobody can blame Jeremy for fighting for his name and job.I am sure he will win. What people will think of him, will be pretty sided also .Like I said so many against and so many for him.
Yes, I was for Brian when he won the Championship in ‘03.I would of liked Kyle to have made the chase, but maybe next year for him.[I guess I see some traits of Jeremy in Kyle, that's why I like him..determination,skill] You mention the last lap at Pocono…I had to close my eyes for a second, I was afraid of an accident happening. Talk to you’s again.
Hilda,
I draw the line at Kyle Busch. Like his brother, rotten apples don’t fall very far from the tree! They both are card-carrying members of the entitlement club. Kurt was very lucky to win his championship, and it surely was funny when Jack Roush let us know that Kurt had “used up his equity” when he confronted one of Joe Arpaio’s fine sheriffs down Phoenix way. And Kyle is extremely great at blaming his team when his car isn’t perfect. I will admit he can flat drive a very loose racecar, but so can Craig Dollansky. When I was more of a fan of NASCAR, I told others that with very few exceptions, I would love for my son or daughter to spend a week with almost any NASCAR driver. I can’t say that about a lot of drivers now. Specifically the drivers of the 2, 7, 14, 18, and 42 cars are not who would be role models I would choose. I put the 14 driver on this list mostly because he is very busy and does not have his own kids. There’s a bunch of drivers I would put ? by because I have little knowledge of them. One retired driver I would put at the top of the list is the one who won the last championship ever to go to the 88 car. Just my somewhat humble opinions. I would be fine with my son or daughter spending time with the Mayfields!
Speaking of the subject that will continue to fire up this site, I just read on Jayski, from the AP, that NAZICAR is asking for mental and substance evaluations on Jeremy Mayfield, say they have four(!) people that claim they observed JM snorting meth some say daily many years ago. One, ironically, has the last name of “Buskill”. I shudder to contemplate a picture of these credible individuals next to Jeremy’s ex-mother-in-law. They may look like they are from a very shollow gene pool! This is continuing to remind me of a combination of Jerry Springer and getting the Mafia upset with you, with a little Adolf Hitler thrown in for good measure. Messrs. France and Helton will not quit until they have done everything possible to totally ruin a decent human being as an example to the others involved in this “sport” that you don’t mess with them! I am really concerned about Jeremy keeping it together through all this! I admit the “extremely major sponsor” announcement hit me as very weird, but the powers that be made a tactical decision that they accomplished their goal with Carl Long via a $200.000 fine that he couldn’t even begin to pay, but Mayfield might have been able to come up with that amount of money. So more is needed to crush Jeremy.
I really think that a good question for many who are doing well in NASCAR is “what good is it to a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?” I am sure many will say “it isn’t affecting me. He should have obeyed the rules, and he would be fine”. Please refer to my previous “Easy Rider” observations, or possibly (re)watch the movie! I still could be totally wrong about Jeremy, Hilda I hope not, but this “holy war” really scares me!