CUP: Vickers Runs Test Laps In Orlando

Sprint Cup

CUP: Vickers Runs Test Laps In Orlando

Red Bull driver thrilled to return to car after long absence…

Mike Hembree | Posted January 10, 2011 Charlotte, NC

Brian Vickers has a long history with Turner Motorsports. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Brian Vickers is back.

Forced off the track last season by health concerns, Vickers returned to the driver’s seat of his No. 83 Team Red Bull car Monday in a test at Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, FL.

“Today was just a huge weight off of my shoulders,” Vickers said in a statement released by the team. “Not only for myself, but for the guys on the team. There were so many rumors, assumptions and speculations about my health and status for 2011, but today hopefully put all of them to rest.”

Vickers ran laps with the No. 83 team to reacquaint himself with his cars – and speed.

“It felt damn good to get back in the car,” he said. “Everything fit. Everything felt right. Everything was just the way I left it last May. Just to fire the car back up was awesome, and then to punch it for the first time was such a great feeling.

“We are here to get more seat time for me and so I can back in groove with the road crew. I don’t think we are going to learn anything ground-breaking today, but it’s really just a great chance for us all to work together, and the bottom line for me is just to get back in a race car and log some laps.”

Vickers left the team 11 races into the 2010 season after battling blood clots in his lung and one leg. Doctors put him on blood thinners and told him to stay away from driving race cars for the balance of the season.

The team’s plan was to return him to the No. 83 cars for the upcoming season, and Monday’s test was the first step in that direction.

Also at the test was Kasey Kahne, Vickers’ new teammate. Kahne, Casey Mears and other drivers filled Vickers’ No. 83 seat during his absence last season.

Kahne will drive Team Red Bull’s No. 4 this season while he waits to move on to Hendrick Motorsports next year.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Hembree

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR

CUP: Johnson Destroys Another Format
For a record fourth time, Jimmie Johnson rolls home first in Sprint…
CUP: Busches Falter In Final Shootout
Kyle, Kurt Busch lose top spots on pit road prior to 10-lap finale……
CUP: McMurray, Stenhouse Advance To All-Star
Jamie McMurray dominates Showdown to move into All-Star field with…