The good news is that Brian Vickers stayed in contention for a win through an entire Chase for the Cup race. The bad news is that his front-running performance wasn’t enough to stop him from being the first driver mathematically eliminated from championship contention.
After 500 miles, two wrecks and a couple of extra laps to get the Amp Energy 500 into the books, Vickers came home in 13th spot, delivering consecutive top-15 finishes in the Chase after a spate of dismal outings.
Despite improving his luck in the last two Cup races, Vickers saw his championship hopes officially dashed when points leader Jimmie Johnson crossed the line in sixth. The three-time champion only needs to start the next three races to eliminate Vickers’ from the mix. The Red Bull driver left Talladega 551 points behind Johnson in the 12th and final chase position.
While the numbers are against him, Vickers did get some luck in Alabama. With the restrictor plates keeping everyone on close quarters at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway, good fortune helped Vickers make it home after the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota driver was front-and-centre for the Big One when it finally happened with one lap to go.
The 13-car crash came one lap after Vickers restarted beside eventual winner Jamie McMurray following a 13-minute red flag period. The race was stopped after a five-car crash on Lap 183 which saw Ryan Newman do a reverse backflip before he completed an inverted slide up and down the banking. He came to a stop upside-down in the infield.
The excitement in the final laps was a welcome change from the eventless 183 laps prior to the carnage.
Before the race, NASCAR told the drivers that pushing other cars in corners would not be tolerated. Without that tactic, no one was able to break free of the pack and make a run for it, leaving the fans to watch single-file racing for most of the first 500 miles.
“What [the rule] prevented was two or three guys being able to drop to the bottom and go to the front. Without that, it really got single file there and there was really not a lot you could do in the middle of the race,” Vickers said.
“I don't think it accomplished anything that had anything to do with a big crash or a ‘Big One'. We crashed just as much today on the straight-away as we've ever done and the new rule was in place.”
On the penultimate lap, luck was with Vickers who missed getting caught up in the “Big One” by inches, as Kurt Busch lost control after being bumped from behind and skidded across the No. 83’s bow. With the field frozen when the yellow came out, Vickers cruised to the line.
'It was probably the most yawning that I've done during a superspeedway race' – Brian Vickers
While he’s officially out of championship contention, Vickers closed the gap to Carl Edwards, who lies in the 10th spot where he hopes to finish the Chase — albeit by only three points to 114. Vickers is 103 behind 11th-place driver Denny Hamlin.
“It was probably the most yawning that I've done during a superspeedway race,” Vickers said of the first 180 laps. “It was a lot calmer out there. It made the middle part of the race a little more boring.”
Scott Speed wasn’t as lucky as his Red Bull teammate. The No. 82 Red Bull Toyota got clipped by Busch and turned around before getting hammered by another car. It was a bitter pill for Speed, who looked to be ready to take another top-10 finish in Alabama – Speed finished third in Talladega this spring.
Unfortunately, Speed could not continue after the accident and he lost more ground to 35th in owner points in a race where he looked poised to take a big bite out of the gap. The additional 17 points lost in Alabama pushed the gap to 135 with three races to go.
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