Welcome back, Brian
Vickers. Vickers crashed hard in his first race as Tony Stewart's temporary
replacement Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. Vickers was
evaluated and released from the infield care center. He finished 24th in the
25-car field. Denny Hamlin won, giving Joe Gibbs Racing its fourth Unlimited
victory in the last five years. The 32-year-old Vickers blamed a flat tire for
causing him to lose control and get sideways going into a turn. "I don't
know how I cut it yet," he said. "I felt it going down the
straightaway, and at that point, I started to roll out. But at that point,
you're going 200 mph and there's nothing you can do."
Vickers was officially
announced as Stewart's fill-in for the Daytona 500 on Friday, stepping into
Stewart-Haas Racing's No. 14 Chevrolet while the three-time NASCAR champion
recovers from a fractured vertebra. Vickers was medically cleared to race
earlier this week despite a recurring battle with blot clots. He raced just
twice last season. "Everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing has just put in so
much into this effort, and it's such an honor to get in this car," Vickers
said. "I hate that I'm in this car because it means Tony Stewart, a dear
friend and someone I have so much respect for, is sitting at home. It's an
honor to fill the seat, but the big focus is the Daytona 500."
Vickers was officially
announced as Stewart's fill-in for the Daytona 500 on Friday, stepping into
Stewart-Haas Racing's No. 14 Chevrolet while the three-time NASCAR champion
recovers from a fractured vertebra. Vickers was medically cleared to race
earlier this week despite a recurring battle with blot clots. He raced just
twice last season. "Everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing has just put in so
much into this effort, and it's such an honor to get in this car," Vickers
said. "I hate that I'm in this car because it means Tony Stewart, a dear
friend and someone I have so much respect for, is sitting at home. It's an
honor to fill the seat, but the big focus is the Daytona 500." Stewart, 0
for 17 in the Daytona 500, was hurt riding an all-terrain vehicle in the desert
in California last week.
