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Talladega Super Disappointment
Monday, October 09, 2006
By Heather Pohlabel
Even for the winner of Sunday's Talladega Superspeedway race, Brian Vickers, the race was an ultimate disappointment. Although Vickers should have been enjoying his first NEXTEL Cup win with pride and joy, he was met by jeers, boos, and cries of "bullshit" from the Dale Earnhardt Jr. crowd in victory lane.
Here is a brief recap of the last lap of Sunday's Talladega UAW-Ford 500 race:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is leading Jimmie Johnson and Brian Vickers. Vickers is behind Johnson, giving him the push he needs to stay on Earnhardt Jr. They run half of the final lap this way, just as they had the previous eight laps. Not much action is happening here or in back of them, and it seems clear that Earnhardt Jr. is going to take the checkered flag.
Johnson does what any good racer would do and what he is very good at, trying to take the lead in the last1/2 lap. He cuts down to the left to pass Jr., and as he does so, his teammate, Vickers, in the 25 car, goes with him to push him across the finish line.
Instead, Jimmie checks up just ever so slightly, and Vickers gets his rear quarter panel, which sends Johnson sliding up the track and right into Earnhardt Jr., who had no idea what was coming. He was set in to race Johnson to the checkered, but instead ends up spinning across the track and into the grass with him and Vickers flies by and takes the checkers.
Fans go crazy booing and jeering Vickers, who, instead of taking a victory lap, heads straight to Victory Lane, where he is not met happily.
In an after crash interview, Earnhardt Jr. was compassionate, friendly, and understanding of the unbelievable event that just happened, acknowledging that it was just racing, and that is how racing is. While he acknowledged that Vickers might have been too hungry for his first win, he did not seem upset, but stated that the felt bad for his team and especially for the 48 because it looked like he was going to win.
Johnson, on the other hand, was obviously very upset with his teammate. In his after race interview, Johnson stated at least twice that he was upset he was spun out by his teammate, stressing the word teammate. He also showed America his Jeff Gordon-like greed and whininess, stressing that he was the one running for a championship. It is, after all, all about Jimmie, isn't it?
The Hendricks boys, Johnson and Gordon specifically, have been verbally isolating Vickers from their team for several months, bad mouthing him in interviews. Yet, Vickers has not spoken out against them or hindered their performances purposefully at all. Sunday's incident was an accident, but Johnson and the media already have painted Vickers.
I have been a Jimmie Johnson fan from the get-go. As soon as I was drawn to NASCAR, I was drawn to him, but I know that the man has some unfavorable characteristics, and causing wrecks and blaming other people are two of them.
Johnson has been blessed to have Brian Vickers as his teammate. He may not have won the spring Talladega race without him, especially considering his track record there. Vickers is the only team player on the Hendricks Motorsports team. He consistently drafts well with his teammates; he always takes back seat to the Chase contenders, and he never gives them any grief. He is a clean racer with a good personality and good intentions.
The overall failure of the 48 team this year (and every year prior to this) is due in part to bad strategizing on the part of crew chief Chad Knaus, who, in my opinion, should not have been granted a renewal contract with the team. It is highly unlikely that Johnson will ever win a championship with Knaus as his crew chief, yet Knaus has the audacity to publicly state that Vickers does not have enough talent to control his car.
Vickers' full intention was to help Johnson win the race on Sunday, not to hinder it in any way. His contract was not renewed with Hendricks Motorsports for next year, and his team has basically shunned him by not allowing him in team meetings, but he still remained a team player. I don't know how anyone can in good conscious say that he wrecked Johnson to be spiteful.
Contrary to Johnson's statements, Vickers was not too anxious to make his first win. Unlike other teammates Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch, Vickers plays it cool and quiet and does his best to help out. He didn't want to win this way. He didn't deserve to win this way. Put that man in a Toyota next year and let's watch him win some races!
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