Daytona 500: 38 Days and Counting

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.

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Brian Vickers

• 2007 Stats

  • Organization: Team Red Bull
  • Car Number: 83
  • Crew Chief: Doug Richert
  • Sponsor: Red Bull
  • Points: 38th :: 2065 :: -4658
  • Starts: 23
  • Poles: 0
  • Wins: 0
  • Top 5’s: 1
  • Top 10’s: 5
  • Winnings: $2,105,820

• 2008 Preview

  • Organization: Team Red Bull
  • Car Number: 83
  • Crew Chief: Kevin Hamlin
  • Sponsor: Red Bull

After making the jump from Hendrick Motorsports to the Toyota start-up of Team Red Bull for 2007, the only real trouble here in 2007 was making the show. Previously known for good qualifying efforts, Brian Vickers missed the show 13 times in 2007.

However, once in the show his performance was the best overall under the Toyota banner. While he did finish some 716 points behind the highest Toyota in the Drivers Points (Dave Blaney, with 2781), Blaney also had 10 more starts last season. Had Vickers made those 10 races, he would have finished ahead of Blaney most likely.

The real problem is that you have to make the show to get a shot at serious points, and that bit Vickers 13 times as mentioned previously. To his credit, he did have one more Top-10 than Blaney, even with 10 fewer starts.

Note: information is accurate as of date published. Check Thunder Lounge for additional updates and information.

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Filed Under: Brian Vickers, Drivers, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Sprint Cup, Team RedBull #83, Teams





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By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Wednesday August 22, 2007
10:41am CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Yep. And that’s the facts Jack. No pun intended.

When the flags finally flew over the pavement at Michigan, a track where the Roushketeers have flat out put a whoopin on the field for the past several years, Roush didn’t go quietly into the wind as Kurt Busch walked away from the field to the checkers. Kenseth was strong all day, and Carl Edwards was backing up his run there in June.

However a couple other strong cars, Busch and Brian Vickers, also added some noise to the event with Busch ending up in Victory Lane after the smoke (and fog) cleared.

If Kurt Busch didn’t thank Jack Roush afterwards, he very well should have. The same holds true for Vickers as well. Why, you ask? You mean you haven’t connected the dots? I’ll connect them for you. Pat Tryson, and Doug Richert. Both formerly under the employment of Mr. Jack, and both have an intricate knowledge of Michigan. Having that knowledge couldn’t have done anything but help.

When Vickers has made the show, he’s ran pretty darn decent. If he had made every show, he would definitely be in the Top 25. At least there is a glimmer of hope in that camp.

And of course, the joining of Busch and Tryson is a no-brainer as we’ve discussed before. They immediately had common ground, as provided by their tenures at Roush, and being able to build from that has thus far proven to be a good thing.

In the end, Roush played a part of the story at Michigan, and probably more of a part than anyone will give him credit for.

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Filed Under: Brian Vickers, Drivers, Kurt Busch, Michigan, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Penske Racing #2, Teams, Tracks





Trackback URL for: When In Doubt, Thank Jack Roush

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Monday March 19, 2007
8:39am CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Wow. Where did this week go? I have no idea. Last I checked it was Tuesday, and now it’s Monday already. This sucks not only for our dear readers, but for myself as well. There was a lot of issues I, of course, had comments for last week. However we’ll move forward and try this again.

So by now you know Jimmie Johnson went back to back, passing Stewart with a couple laps to go yesterday at Atlanta, and sailing off into the sunset. Not a huge surprise, but a feat worthy of respect with the closeness of competition these days.

Johnson also, as the title implies, helped to make first time NASCAR history. It started Friday night with Skinner, Jeff Burton kept it alive Saturday, and Jimmie sealed the deal Sunday. Of course we’re referring to the first time ever that all three of the NASCAR top series had back to back winners. Skinner won the truck race at Fontana, and Burton also won last weekends Busch race at Las Vegas. And you thought Montoya’s top 5 was something.

Speaking of things Ganassi, not a bad effort thus far in 2007. Too bad that heading into the final race of guaranteed starts from the 2006 owners points that Robert Yates can’t yet say the same. We’re not officially calling the struggle yet, but it sure is shaping up to be. But hey, they’ll always have the front row at Daytona. Right?

So while you’re probably more worried about your canned pet food at the moment, and I’m thankful I use the non-tainted stuff, there’s folks out there with much bigger worries on their shoulders. Toyota, for starters, and it’s even poorer than expected start to its Cup debut.

After Atlanta, in the 2007 Owners Points battle, the lone Camry in the top 35 is Dale Jarrett by a scant 18 points. Next comes Blaney at 45 points out of the coveted Top 35. One small positive note in all their struggles is Vickers. He’s the next spot behind Blaney and 75 points out of the running. He’s also missed 2 of the 4 races thus far, only making the show in Fontana and Atlanta. That’s translating to a positive how, you ask? To still be that close in the hunt, and only making half the events to date, it means he’s ran “respectable” in those two events on average. Something Dale Jarrett and Dave Blaney who have had twice the opportunities to score points can’t say.

Anybody seen the recent NAPA commercial with Sammy Hagar in the closet? You know, the one where Mikey and DJ are walking though the hall at “Michael Waltrip Racing” and you hear Sammy jammin out with the “slightly different” version of his classic “I can’t drive 55″. Then Mikey opens the closet door and asks if he could turn it down a little bit, and Sammy snaps right back with “Can you drive a little faster”?

Could this be the sign that NAPA is digging its heels in and trying to make the best of a start-up situation? That’s the way I see it, to use Tim’s line, and although the results are obviously less than they had hoped for they can still make due with some creative advertising. Every little bit helps at this point.

If things keep going the way they have been, Toyota better hope Vickers makes it in this week at Bristol. A decent finish could squeak him into the Top 35 for Martinsville, and he could end up the lone Camry in the show thereafter. We say thereafter since that could be, and most likely will be, the last time DJ is eligible to use the Champions excuse (er, provisional) this season. Having used 4 so far, the trend would be one more at Bristol and Martinsville and then with his trend in Owners Points he’d be on the outside looking in.

The only salvation for struggling teams at this point is that now it’s time to put the COT on the track to race. Some say that the playing field will be leveled with it initially. While this is true to some extent, since nobody has raced it in an actual event yet, you can still expect the cream to rise to the top. Your bigger organizations have been working on it for quite a while now, as they have the resources and capabilities, while smaller operations have had to put more focus on the first for races of the season.

One thing is for certain though as we head to the mountains of Tennessee. All bets are off.

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Filed Under: Atlanta, Brian Vickers, Dale Jarrett, Drivers, Hendrick Motorsports #48, Jimmie Johnson, Michael Waltrip, Michael Waltrip Racing #44, Michael Waltrip Racing #55, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Team RedBull #83, Teams, Tracks





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By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Friday March 9, 2007
11:29am CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Las Vegas is a pivot point, and incredibly important this season. More so than any season before it. Granted it’s more pivotal for some teams than others, but regardless of who you run for it still carries more weight than it had.

For starters, we have 18 teams this weekend trying to squeeze into 7 available spots. Yet again, there will be well funded teams that take a long ride back across the country to the shop a few days earlier than they had hoped for. Some of these teams haven’t made a race this season at all (Mayfield and Allmendinger for example), and some have made one of two (Vickers). Note, these are all Toyota teams, but there are other manufacturers in this boat as well. For all of these teams, Vegas is extremely crucial. Right now, the deficit to 35th in owners points is still in sight. After Vegas it will get wider, and wider after Atlanta, and will continue to grow. By the time we get to the end of April, if you have missed more races than not, you can probably kiss the top 35 luxury goodbye and hope for more success in 2008.

Not only for teams that have struggled to make the show, but it’s also crucial for teams which have had lackluster results in the previous two events. Stewart, Dale Jr, Dave Blaney, as well as many others that have had mixed results. Stewie is on the rebound after his DNF in the 500, and his 8th place finish at Fontana bumped him up to 21^st in points. Junior is still stuck back in 41^st (40^th in owners), but only 18 from the top 35.

Dale Jarrett has another problem. Right now he sits inside the top 35, but those don’t take effect until Martinsville. Jarrett has had to use 2 of his available 6 Past Champion Provisionals, and using 5 of them up front will endanger his team later on this spring if he has issues and some poor finishes.

So centering in the middle of the newly anointed Top 35 Fiasco™ is Las Vegas in all of its redesigned glory. If you wish to call it glory, which Tony Stewart doesn’t. Bringing along with it the drama of fighting for a secured starting spot, it’s pivotal.

If you make the show, for starters, you get a leg up on teams that didn’t. Take for example Brian Vickers, he missed the 500 but after making Fontana is 34th in the hunt for starting spots. Note that he gained 19 spots in the hunt. As the races wear on, gains like this aren’t going to be a reality. Right now, at Las Vegas, it’s still possible to get yourself into position. With the next 3 races even, it’s going to become a nightmare.

So here were are, and qualifying is approaching fast. If you’re comfortable right now, you can work a little harder on your race set-up and let the qualifying chips fall where they may. If you’re struggling to make the show, you’ll have to split your practice time to make sure you give yourself the best possibility to make the show. In turn, your race set-up is going to have less time under it, which usually results in less appealing race results. It ends up becoming a vicious cycle. You can’t get your race set-up better, because you miss out on the additional time that teams in the top 35 have the luxury of taking. So if you get into the show, you’re already behind no matter where you start. Cycle repeats. The saving grace is hopefully by the time Martinsville comes due, you’re in the top 35 and can build on it. If you’re close and on the edge, you may find yourself back on the outside of the fence come race day. A painful lesson to swallow, and one that will be leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of sponsors as well.

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Filed Under: Brian Vickers, Dale Earnhardt Inc #8, Dale Earnhardt Junior, Dale Jarrett, Drivers, Joe Gibbs Racing #20, Las Vegas, Michael Waltrip Racing #44, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Team RedBull #83, Teams, Tony Stewart, Tracks





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By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Sunday February 25, 2007
8:53am CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Is anyone surprised by this? Jeff Gordon being on top at California? You shouldn’t be surprised that he’ll pace the field to the green today, not being the only driver with multiple wins (3) at the track, and a record there that speaks for itself. Then again, overall, it’s tough to find a track where this guy hasn’t had success. What the team has to face now is that no California winner has ever come from the pole. If the Truck or Busch race are any indication, don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.

Mark Martin looked to have the truck race wrapped up Friday night, yet some “inconvenient” contact from Hornaday on the second to last restart put Mark through the grass and opened the door for Skinner to sneak into Victory Lane to give Toyota their second piece of hardware in a row.

Then we have Mr. Roboto here. Patience and keeping up with the track conditions made for yet another Kenseth Busch win. His 22nd win, in 200 starts, in the series came without too much fanfare. Jeff Burton had a pretty fast car, as did Kyle Bush as well. In the end though, clean air and good calls kept Matt in the hunt as he walked off with the win. The only challenge coming from Casey Mears, in the 24’s first appearance in Busch Series competition since 2002, and while Mears made the charge, he needed another 5 to 10 laps. But he was coming though, and it at least provided a little hope of a battle to the checkers. In the end though, Katie was sending text messages on her way to greet Matt in Victory Lane. The interesting battle was actually behind Kenseth as Burton, Edwards, Mears and Bush battled for the spots behind Kenseth. Allowing Kenseth to pull out to a little over 2 seconds, Mears finally broke through and cut Kenseth’s lead in about half in 10 laps. Give or take.

Then we have Mr. Waltrip waiting at the gate. With only one car left to qualify, he was sitting on the bubble Friday afternoon. The remaining car? David Reutimann in Michael’s own #00 entry. One has to wonder what the call is there. Team orders? Do your best and let the chips fall as they may? Both cars having to make it in on speed, one was going home. Reutimann put it in the show, sending his boss to the house for the first time this season and putting the team orders rumor to bed. Unless the team orders are to do your best and let the chips fall where they may.

Toyota again put half its cars in the show. Blaney was guaranteed with owners points from last season, Jarrett used his 2nd provisional, Brian Vickers put his Camry in 15th, and then Reutimann. Essentially the same lineup from Toyota as last week, just swap Waltrip for Vickers.

I don’t see Vickers missing too many shows this season. He’s always been rather good in qualifying, and was at Daytona as well. However, as we all know, Daytona 500 qualifying is its own beast.

So as we head into the afternoon, we’ll have some initial stories to follow. One that deserves mentioning is Roush. Watch that team, and the whole team. McMurray’s always been good here, as have the other Roushketeers. Biffle was taking everyone to school a year ago, until he blew a motor in the closing laps.

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Filed Under: Brian Vickers, Busch Series, California, Craftsman Truck Series, David Reutimann, Drivers, Greg Biffle, Hendrick Motorsports #24, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Michael Waltrip, Michael Waltrip Racing #00, Michael Waltrip Racing #55, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Roush Racing #16, Roush Racing #17, Roush Racing #26, Team RedBull #83, Teams, Tracks





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