Let's Move On, Shall We or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Accept Engine Problems
Written by Patterson Belser, Saturday February 21 2009
by Patterson Belser
E-mail
Twitter
In case some of you did not hear, last weekend at the Daytona 500, there was a wreck that was caused by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., after he attempted a pass on Brian Vickers, relegating Vickers to a 39th place finish. I know that it is hard to believe, but it really did happen. The strangest thing about it, in my mind, is that since the wreck occurred, no one has given their opinion on the incident, written multiple articles, or spoken a word about the huge wreck that left drivers, crews and fans livid in the aftermath. Hold on…there have been articles? Hundreds and hundreds of them? Ohhhhhh, that is right. Now I remember each and every one of them. They were fun.
Unless you have been in a coma for the past week (and no offense to you coma people out there, just keep on sleepin’ on), then everyone has seen how Brian Vickers was the subject of many an article since Sunday. He is the driver that was maligned by the now evil Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Well, rest easy race fans. During yesterday’s qualifying runs, Vickers got out there and he showed everyone what that number 83 Red Bull Camry could do. He beat out Jimmie Johnson, who had been fastest in practice, grabbing the pole for Sunday’s Auto Club 500. Johnson will be starting 2nd, with Jamie McMurray, Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle rounding out the top five starters.
Brian Vickers showed everyone that he could recover from disaster just fine and post a great speed as a follow-up to last Sunday’s incident. That is correct, sports fans, not only is he a professional driver, he is a grown-up as well, for any of you that felt terribly sorry for him. As Vickers said in his own words, “I don't know if it's the way I was raised, or my mentality or what. I don't get mad very easily. Things can happen that will bother me, and I will keep that in the back of my mind and I will learn from those instances, and how I will handle those situations and people in the future. But in general, I don't let other people affect my daily life.”
So, if Vickers is not bothered by last week’s wreck and he has moved on, I believe the rest of us should be able to follow suit and do the same. Excellent, so we can all cool off now and move on to get this NASCAR 2009 season underway.
I would like to make something perfectly clear to anyone that may think otherwise, and that is the fact that I like Brian Vickers just fine. I think the guy has made vast improvements as a driver over recent years and is proving that he could be a real contender, if not this year, then definitely in the very near future. Also, his sponsor just happens to be one of my favorite products in the entire world. Red Bull…oh sweet, sweet Red Bull, I have no idea what my life would be without you, other than a Flugtag free and much sleepier existence.
Now, with all of this nonsense out of the way, I am going to have to move along and break the bad news to some of you. While Brian Vickers showed everyone what he was made of by running the fastest qualifying speed and, thus, becoming the pole sitter for Sunday’s race, unfortunately, he will not start in first position.
After qualifying, the crew for the 83 car made a change to the engine which will put Vickers starting in the 43rd position for Sunday’s race. The row with the odd-numbered qualifiers will move forward for the start of the race, putting Jamie McMurray on the pole. A-booooooo. The good news is that Vickers still got to choose his pit stall, and no one can take that away from him.
Vickers’ teammate at Red Bull Racing, the rookie Scott Speed in the number 84 Red Bull Camry, got into the top ten with a ninth place starting position for Sunday after a solid run in qualifying. Though, in a post-qualifying interview, Speed was seen sporting what can only be described as a “murse” (that, for those of you not in the know, is a Man Purse) of the Louis Vuitton variety, and as I am to understand it, this is a normal part of gear. Honestly, I am not trying to be a puffy-chested model of machismo here, but I am FAR from a fan of the murse. I am pro-backpack, though! Speed will be an interesting guy to keep an eye on this season, if for no other reason, than the fact none of us will get him confused with any other driver.
Man, this article started all positive, with Vickers getting his mojo back, then got negative as someone stole it back from him. Let us take a look at a few of positive stories that have happened in the past couple of days.
A.J. Allmendinger returned to his native California for qualifying and not only drove his way into Sunday’s Auto Club 500, but qualified in the top ten, landing a starting spot in the eighth position, and qualified as the fastest of the go-or-go-homers, beating out Tony Stewart, Marcos Ambrose and . Allmendinger is really putting up a fight for a full-time sponsor. Playerpress.com, get out that checkbook!
David Gilliland also qualified for Sunday’s race, as he had to get in on speed this week. Gilliland had to leave Yates Racing as another victim of the sponsorship woes that are plaguing some drivers this year. Gilliland switched from his number 38 Ford that he drove for Yates Racing to the number 71 TRG Motorsports Chevy and due to the switch, he lost the owners points that had him in the top 35, forcing him to have to race his way into the Auto Club 500. Gilliland will start in the 32nd position on Sunday.
Finally, disaster was averted in the skies between Statesville, NC and Fontana, as a plane carrying 44 team and crew members for Michael Waltrip Racing lost oil pressure in one of its two engines, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Las Vegas. The plane touched down without further incident. According to Ty Norris, V.P. and G.M. for Michael Waltrip Racing, the plane landed just fine and was not nearly as scary as it sounds like it could have been. Norris said, “The only thing that was different about the landing was the safety trucks and fire trucks waiting for us at the Las Vegas airport.” Wow.
Tags:
Leave a comment
Not So Fast! To publish your comment, you have to login
Not Registered? Register now as it only take 20 seconds!
Click here to browse
3 comments
Please sign in to rate!
Ah, thank you kind folks. I do what I can...that's all I can do!
Please sign in to rate!
Great post! Notice how when interviewed yesterday at the press conference, Kyle Busch would not even say Vicker's or Juneyah's name? Not even when pressed to. LOL!!
Please sign in to rate!
LOL! "Attempting to pass Brian Vickers...." That was great!