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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Vickers Gets Red Bull In Chase
Brian Vickers and Red Bull Racing will compete in the Chase for the Sprint Cup...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted September 12, 2009   Richmond, VA

Two years ago, Red Bull Racing was one of the worst teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup field.

Now, they will field one of the 12 cars to compete in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Red Bull driver Brian Vickers put on a gutty performance at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night, finishing seventh in the Chevy Rock ‘N’ Roll 400 and earning the 12th and final Chase spot by just 8 points over Kyle Busch. It was the smallest margin in Chase cut-off history and a dramatic turnaround for the team and Vickers.

In Red Bull’s first season in the Sprint Cup Series in 2007, Vickers finished 38th in points, with 13 DNQs. This year, Vickers won six poles and got Red Bull its first race victory. And now, the true jewel, a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

“It feels pretty damned awesome, to be honest with you,” said Vickers. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”

Vickers was 17th in points nine races ago, but since then has been the hottest driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, posting seven top-10 finishes and no finish worse than 12th. And that has him primed to take on the field in the Chase.

“The Chase is all about who can be the best for 10 weeks,” said Vickers. “ … We’ve done it for the last 10 weeks, there’s no reason we can’t do it for the next 10 weeks. Doesn’t mean we will, but we’re capable of it.”

Although Vickers and Busch, the man he defeated for the final Chase spot, had clashed earlier this year, the two shook hands tonight, with Vickers thanking Busch for racing him clean the last few weeks.

Busch agreed that tonight’s race was not what made the difference. “That’s not 8 points that we sacrificed tonight,” Busch said. “It’s a conglomerate of points that we sacrificed all season.”

Still, it was a huge night for Vickers and the Red Bull team.
And Vickers was obviously relieved to have his best run ever at Richmond.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of ?Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,? and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to




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