Vickers wrecks Earnhardt, Jr and Johnson to steal victory at Talladega
Quote selected text Published October 8th, 2006 in NASCAR NewsUpdated with driver quotes below
Brian Vickers stole his first Nextel Cup victory Sunday by turning teammate Jimmie Johnson into race leader Dale Earnhardt Jr., then skirting by the two spinning cars on the last lap at Talladega Superspeedway.
The finish robbed Earnhardt of what seemed to be a victory as he headed into the third turn in pursuit of the checkered flag. But Johnson dipped low to attempt a pass, Vickers went with him and slight contact between the two Hendrick Motorsports drivers sent Johnson spinning directly into Earnhardt.
“That’s the last thing I wanted to do was get into Jimmie,” Vickers said amid a shower of boos in Victory Lane. “But what happened, happened. And it’s still nice to get this win.”
The dramatic ending capped what had been a curiously calm event on Talladega’s sleek new asphalt. The race was incident free until 50 laps to go, when an 11-car melee crippled Jeff Gordon’s championship hopes.
A second accident set up a final restart with 10 laps to go and Earnhardt out front. Then points leader Jeff Burton got a flat tire and had to make a desperate pit stop while the championship board tightened up considerably.
With Earnhardt chugging along — and only 20 points out of the championship lead — the finish seemed secure.
But the two Hendrick drivers apparently had a game-plan of hooking up to run down Earnhardt. They moved low together, and Earnhardt threw a huge block to prevent the pass. It apparently caused Johnson to bobble and Vickers drilled him in the back bumper, sending Johnson spinning into Earnhardt.
“There on the last lap, I knew that Jimmie was going to go and I was going to push him to the front,” Vickers said. “I didn’t expect for us to be able to get the win. I was looking for us to maybe get a second place, and push him by (Earnhardt).
“When he swerved to miss the 8, I was just there.”
Earnhardt understood.
“They got a good run coming at the end. They got a good push together and I knew there wasn’t going to be much I could do,” Earnhardt said. “I tried to block him a little bit, but once I understood that he was there I didn’t push the issue anymore and (Vickers) turned him into me.
“Brian was just excited there. I’m not really that upset, I mean, that’s just the way racing goes here and sometimes you come out on the good end of the deal.”
Johnson wasn’t nearly as forgiving.
“I just can’t believe it,” he said. “Here we go all day long, I had a great chance to make up some points, and I end up getting wrecked by a teammate.”
Only for six more weeks. Vickers is leaving Hendrick at the end of the season to drive for a Toyota team, and his impending departure led the organization to lock him out of their team meetings.
Now he might not even be allowed in the building.
His contact dropped Earnhardt to a 23rd-place finish, Johnson to 24th and prevented either from making any gains in the Chase for the championship. Although Burton’s lead was cut to six points over Matt Kenseth, Earnhardt is 106 back in sixth place and Johnson is 156 out in eighth place.
Even more disconcerting for Hendrick is that Gordon also took a huge hit in the standings.
After leading seven times for 27 laps, he was denied a chance to run for the win when he received the worst of the first accident in the race. It came with 50 laps to go when contact between Carl Edwards, Joe Nemechek and Johnson set off an 11-car melee.
Gordon spun toward the outside, seemed to keep his car off of it, then skidded back down the track with minimal damage. But Casey Mears tagged him from behind, sending a disheartened Gordon puttering into the garage amid a flood of cheers from the crowd.
As he watched his crew furiously try to make enough repairs to get him back on the track, he declared his championship hunt pretty much over. Six points out of the lead two races ago, a 39th-place finish last week and a 36th here has him seventh in the standings, 147 points out.
“I’ve said all along that if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be,” he said. “And it just doesn’t seem meant to be. Right now I am not even thinking about it because I am just so bummed out because I know that our chances are pretty slim of winning this championship, if not completely done.”
Fin St Car Driver Make Sponsor Pts/Bonus Laps Status
1 9 #25 Brian Vickers Chevrolet GMAC 185/5 187 Running
2 25 #9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 175/5 187 Running
3 29 #2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 170/5 187 Running
4 19 #17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 165/5 187 Running
5 16 #1 Martin Truex Jr. * Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops/Tracker 160/5 187 Running
6 14 #29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet GM Goodwrench 150/0 187 Running
7 37 #66 Jeff Green Chevrolet Microsoft Windows Live/Best Buy 146/0 187 Running
8 39 #43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios/Betty Crocker 142/0 187 Running
9 30 #6 Mark Martin Ford AAA 143/5 187 Running
10 17 #99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 134/0 187 Running
11 6 #5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Kellogg’s 135/5 187 Running
12 2 #88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS 132/5 187 Running
13 11 #12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 124/0 187 Running
14 21 #55 Michael Waltrip Dodge NAPA Auto Parts 126/5 187 Running
15 1 #38 David Gilliland Ford M&M’s 118/0 187 Running
16 28 #109 Mike Wallace Ford Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts 115/0 187 Running
17 15 #01 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet U.S. Army 117/5 187 Running
18 41 #10 Scott Riggs Dodge Valvoline/Stanley Tools 109/0 187 Running
19 36 #7 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Harrah’s 106/0 187 Running
20 40 #96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV 103/0 187 Running
21 33 #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 110/10 187 Running
22 3 #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 102/5 187 Running
23 12 #11 Denny Hamlin * Chevrolet FedEx Express 99/5 187 Running
24 13 #20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 96/5 187 Running
25 23 #21 Ken Schrader Ford Motorcraft Genuine Parts 88/0 186 Running
26 20 #49 Mike Bliss Dodge WhatsOnline.com 85/0 186 Running
27 34 #31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Cingular Wireless 87/5 186 Running
28 35 #22 Dave Blaney Dodge Caterpillar 79/0 185 Running
29 22 #19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 81/5 185 Running
30 31 #42 Casey Mears Dodge Texaco/Havoline 78/5 184 Running
31 27 #104 Eric McClure Chevrolet Hefty 70/0 183 Running
32 10 #18 J.J. Yeley * Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 67/0 178 Running
33 38 #40 David Stremme * Dodge Coors Light Camouflage Can 64/0 176 Out of Race
34 24 #15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Menards/Moen 66/5 174 Out of Race
35 32 #07 Clint Bowyer * Chevrolet DIRECTV 63/5 173 Running
36 4 #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 60/5 168 Out of Race
37 8 #26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 57/5 161 Running
38 18 #45 Kyle Petty Dodge Petty Enterprises/Victory Junction 49/0 150 Out of Race
39 42 #41 Reed Sorenson * Dodge Target 51/5 148 Out of Race
40 7 #14 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet Waste Management 43/0 146 Out of Race
41 5 #16 Greg Biffle Ford National Guard/Charter Communications 45/5 138 Out of Race
42 26 #178 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing 37/0 25 Out of Race
43 43 #74 Derrike Cope Dodge Royal Admin. Svcs/Sundance Vacations 34/0 10 Out of Race
Driver quotes:
Brian Vickers:
“It is pretty exciting to get our first win in the GMAC Chevy,” said Vickers. “I said I wanted to get a win for Ricky (Hendrick) in this car so I would like to dedicate this win to Ricky. Not quite exactly how I planned it but Jimmie (Johnson) had a heck of a run and I was pushing him and then when he turned down I got off of him. Then when he turned down to pass the No. 8, the No. 8 kept pushing down and when he jerked to avoid the No. 8 trying to block him, I just got into him. I apologize, that is the last thing I want to do is to get in to Jimmie but when the No. 8 chopped him and JImmie swerved, I just got him. “It is not how I wanted to win it, but it is nice to get a win for this No. 25 car, it has been a long time.”
Dale Earnhardt, Jr:
“It was very smart on Jimmie’s part to wait to the last lap to make his move. (Johnson and Vickers) had a good run coming at the end, and they got a good push together. I knew there wasn’t much I could do. He went to the inside, and I tried to block a little bit, but once I understood he was there, I didn’t push the issue any more, and the 25 turned him into me. I hate it for the 48, and I hate it for our team. We had a great car. It’s just the way racing goes here. Sometimes you come out on the good end of those deals, and sometimes the bad. It’s unfortunate we tore up our car. I really wanted to win today, but there’s not much I could’ve done about it. Believe me, I tried to save it. It’s frustrating. We had a great car. I want to thank Budweiser. My team is great. My guys are behind me, and we’re going to try to win a couple races before this thing is over with.”
SHOULD BRIAN VICKERS BE ALLOWED TO KEEP THE VICTORY?
Dale Earnhardt, Jr:
“He didn’t wreck anybody on purpose. I think he was just trying to push the No. 48. He didn’t think, oh here’s my chance and knock them both out. He just got excited trying to push the No. 48. I don’t think he should lose any points or anything. He was just racing hard there.”
Matt Kenseth:
“It was a good points day. The car felt good most of the day and we were able to get out front and stay ahead of the most of the wrecks. I thought were going to have a shot at it, but we got shuffled back there and we didn’t have a drafting partner to pull out of line there at the end. It felt good to get some points today and get back up there. It put us back where we can have a shot at it.”
Kasey Kahne:
(On last lap crash)”For me I was right behind it. It looked like those guys were waiting, kinda ganging up on the 8. The 25 was pushing, gave him (48) a great run. He was pushing him by. It was hard to tell who went which way, but it kinda looked like the 25 went down to get behind the 48 and keep pushing him and he was already a little bit up on his right rear corner there and actually kinda hooked him and turned him into the 8 from where I was. I was also racing, trying to miss all that stuff, so I could be a little wrong.”
Jimmie Johnson:
“I got a run on the No. 8 and got inside him,” said Johnson. “I got hit from behind and it turned me into him (Earnhardt) and off we went. I need to see the video, I can’t believe it, here we went all day long and had a great chance to make up some points and got crashed by a teammate.”
Mark Martin:
“We’ve sure run better than this,” said Martin. “But we hadn’t finished here in forever without wrecking. I’ll take it. It was a great day for us and we’re still in this hunt.
- Expect last lap drama at Talladega
- Fall Talladega 2006 Last Lap - Vickers, Earnhardt Jr, Johnson
- Johnson still upset after Talladega incident with Vickers
- Vickers doesn’t think Bruton Smith’s extra security offer is serious
- Johnson and Vickers patch things up
You GOTTA be kidding me! They let Vickers actually KEEP this victory?? Seriously? If I were him I’d give the trophy back! Accidental or not, this is BOGUS! I’m still in shock!
I’m going to have to agree with TT on this one. Vickers won the cheap way and Earnhardt, Jr was class act all the way with his comments afterward. I know I wouldn’t be that cool…Vickers is an A#@!
I can’t believe they let Vickers keep that victory when he obviously took out his own “team mate.” I hope Rick Hendrick fires him immediately and get a substitute driver for the rest of the season. He may have cost both of his team mates a Nextel Cup Championship just because he wanted to win one, he’s not even in the chase. Well, I hope he’s proud of himself cause no one else is. That was low.
I think Brian shouldn’t even had gotten that trophy.
It was Very cheap to be winning the race. but whats funny is that when jimmy and his teammates were the ones that were up front no body would of done that to them, but if Dale Jr. or the other good racers were up there then they would do something like that. I think the whole thing is messed up! they should have a rule about that! i look at it as cheating!
I am going to drink my sorrows away with my beer now. LOL!
Brian Vickers needs a good butt whoopin’ (to put it mildly)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And doesn’t deserve to keep this win!!!
How wrong can you be, Dude? You not only wreck Junior but your own friggin’ teammate?????????????
“Hey Brian Vicker, you just won Talladega! Now where are you going?”
“I’m going to driving school!!!!!”
You need to, you monkey spank!!!!
As was told to me by another racing friend “Well, let’s see…..this will probably be his FIRST AND LAST restrictor plate win. He’s gonna be like Jeff Gordon and have NO drafting friends out there now!!”
Thanks for nothing Brian.
Enjoy the win that was totally stolen!!!
Why not try winning a race the right way ~ LEGALLY and without cheating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My blood is still boiling, want to hit something…Brians face would be good! UNBELEIVABLE, If I were him I would not have even accepted the win, Jr was WAY too nice about the whole thing, wish he would have gone off on the little………………………….
Thumbs down to Vickers!
Thumbs up to Junior! There’s your gentleman driver. What an admirable thing he did. Kept his cool and didn’t spout off like he could have and like an other driver would have done.
He could have pulled a “Carl Edwards” on Vickers and, if anything, it would have been so called for and allowed. I’d beat his @$$ if I were Junior.
I still say Junior deserves to go “Carl Edwards” on Vickers sorry @ss!!!!!!!! Maybe the fans will do it for him and save him from a stolen victory!
Brian Vickers ~ your cheatin’, race win stealin’ driver of the year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was completely disgusted by Brian’s actions. I was hoping NASCAR would refuse to give him the trophy, but I’m not at all surprised that they didn’t. Here I was feeling sorry for the giuy a few days ago. Blah. Hopefully someone will give him some good old payback next race!! =D
“I still say Junior deserves to go “Carl Edwards” on Vickers sorry @ss!”
That’s a good one!!!!!
Go “Carl Edwards” on your ass!!!! I gotta remember that one!
If anyone’s got it coming, I’d sure have to say it’s Brian Vickers.
What a jerk!!!!!!!!!!! NASCAR should never allow him to keep that win. It was the same as cheating and wasn’t gotten honestly - WRONG, just WRONG!!! Brian Vickers should be so ashamed of himself. Lord knows, everyone else is.
Thats racing babe, nothing wrong with pickin up your first win!!!
well, it would help if ya got your first win without f**king cheating, wrecking and being dishonest about it.
Vickers sucks the big dickers……..
I agree with most people on this that this is bogus, watching that happen is the truth, you can see what happened. I think that jr should have got that. its plain and simple.
This is the biggest bunch of bull i have ever seen….yeah and before anyone says it I know that is racing, but Vickers got too anxious..Jr probably couldnt have held off both with no one helping him although i still believe he could have…I dont think Vickers deserves the win jr was robbed of his victory…For vickers to take his own teammate out too his @$$ would be fired and NEXTEL needs to take this win from him as well….to pick up a win like that in that way I wouldnt tell anyone that I won….if that is the only u can feel u can win then u dont deserve to win or race at all..stupid moves like that get people hurt…I do have to say I am glad to see the way Jr has matured and how well he handled himself afterwards as well as Jimmy…thats my opinion….
I dont think Vickers should’ve won!! I mean, I know it wasn’t intentional, but still…he should’ve got some sort of penalty. He was bump drafting Jimmie, and other drivers were warned about that earlier. I dont think he should’ve won.
Also, when a caution comes out (especially last lap), the field freezes. Since this was the last lap, the race should’ve ended when the caution came out. In this case, Kasey Kahne should’ve won because he was in front of Vickers when the caution came out. In this case though, they kept on racing as if nothing happened, and Vickers got the win. I dont think it’s right to let him keep the win.
I was just watching NASCAR Today, on Speed Channel….
Nobody had a negative opinion about Brian Vickers. “Bootie” Barker said on the show: “Brian couldn’t have lifted. It was unfortunate and unintentional, but he couldn’t have lifted.”
Dale Jr. didn’t say one negative thing about Vickers. He looked dejected and clearly disappointed, but he’s been in that position, himself.
So Vickers is now blaming Junior???
WTF???
Uh, I didn’t know Earnhardt was driving your car, Brian.
Think you need to come up with a better excuse! And take that win away from him while he’s pondering things!
Johnson and Jr shoulda tag teamed Vickers and kicked his ass!! The fines would have SO been worth it!
And by the way Vickers, don’t bring up the Hendrick plane crash tragity and dedicate your win to them… even Ricky would have been disappointed with the way you drive!!
im not a vickers fan nor a earnhardt fan but i see it like this, Johnson was being a puss waiting until the last lap of the race to make the pass. Earnhardt was making a huge ass block out of everything and it seemed like the whole pack was eager to get around JR as fast as possible. If johnson would have made tha pass sooner, this wouldn’t have happened. Think back to the bristol race when Earnhardt Senior took out Rusty wallace for the race win. huh, no-one booed then. But when Jr gets in a wreck, the whole world has to call a national crisis. I’m just speaking my opinion on this, since im a Kasey Kahne fan. So whoever flames me for this, oh well.
brian vickers should have his balls ripped off after Dale Jr goes “carl edwards” on his ass. as much as i dont like jimmie johnson, even he deserves to beat up on vickers as well, sure vickers is leaving hendricks to join toyota next year, but he is still part of hendricks these last 6 races and to screw your teammate despite that IT WAS RACING still aint right. i hope the Jr fans can put a vodoo hex curse on vickers, id help. GO JR! thank god theres still more races for the chasers, no more mulligans for Jr.
Two words for Brian Vickers…Tony Stewart! You can be darn lucky it wasnt him that you took out or you would have a real problem on your hands. You couldn’t even apologize to Junior at all and he was the one that was way too cool about it…instead you apologize to your gay buddy in the 48 car and he was the one that was most pissed at ya. You afraid he wont let you in on the next girls sleepover at Hendrick Motorsports with the rest of the fairies?
Vickers did nothing wrong. I can’t even really stand the guy but he was not in the wrong. Jimmie hesitated and cost himself big. Out of the 30 cars on the lead lap Jimmie was the only one who made a move on the final lap. He should not have pussy footed when he did. It appeared that Jimmie thinking that Junior was going to block him killed alot of his momentum plus he didn’t have that great of a run on Junior at that moment. I bet Jimmie was sitting in the car thinking “Vickers, push me!”. Well he did. I don’t blame Vickers one bit. No one should. Blame him for not taking responsibility. Blame him for bringing up the plane crash in vain, but don’t blame him for wanting to win. Its all Jimmies fault. He new what was at stake and of all the bad things that could have happened the worst one did. He cause it. Without Jimmie making that move none of this would have happened. Hell, blame NASCAR for building these tracks and only being able to come up with restrictor plates to keep the spectators safe. This incident was a product of that.
Well thats good and all for Vickers. I just hope Hendrick makes the right move and dumps Vickers before the seasons over just to send a message. After all hendrick would get a better turnout with terry labonte behind the wheel for the last five. As for vicker, that busch series no body, Good luck in ARCA!
I’m a Hendricks fan and these are my thoughts. I believe that Vickers did do it on purpose, and that he should be off the team for the remaining races. I believe that Johnson would have waited until coming off of turn 4 to try a pass on Jr, because even a 2nd place would have been a great points day. And if Nascar would have black flag Jr for almost spinning Kurt Busch out after getting a warning then it would have been Johnson and Kahne instead of JR, but thats another topic. By the way Vickers has been removed from my car window today, and I have to pull for Burton instead of Johnson since Vickers ended his chances for this year. Thanx Brian I hope you suck next year.
Vickers needs to give that trophy to a true winner. He was selfish and wanted that win and he didn’t care who he took out getting it. We all understand that he’s leaving, but that doesn’t mean you go out on a bad note and wreck your current teammate! Just like Jim said “I hope you suck next year” which probably won’t be hard seeing that this was his first win….and a very selfish one at that!
Listen I am a Jr fan and I think Vickers should keep the trophy and the win. He’s not the first driver to win a race this way. I hated it for Jr because he was right back in the title hunt, just some 26 points or something out. The only thing I don’t agree with Vickers on was the supposed HUGE block Jr put on. I watched replays, used my tivo to slow mo it and there was no huge block. Jr took a shot at blocking Jimmie, saw it wasn’t there and pretty much held his line. Vickers got eager and hit his teammate, which is unacceptable. I didn’t see too many of Hendrick’s employees congratulating Brian after the win. I agree with Chad Knaus, Brian doesn’t have the talent to match the car he has under him, that’s why he’s leaving. Vickers is not going to win a lot of races in his career, and definitely not a championship so give him this one. The bigger story in this race was the quotes back and forth from Junior and Gordon. Gordon whining once again about bump drafting, and Junior basically saying Gordon doesn’t have any friends except the ones that are paid to act like his friends. I personally would love to see a Junior/Gordon rivalry start up, and Nascar may not admit it but they would too. The two biggest stars feuding would gain new fans, and no doubt up attendance at races and TV ratings.
Yeah…he should get to keep it but he gets to keep the crap that goes along with it…as his first victory. He didn’t do it on purpose, he just is too inexperienced to handle that type of driving. Restrictor plate racing takes a hell of alot of strength and courage. He (vickers)doesn’t have it. He should be more ashamed of himself though then he is. Earnhardt Jr is definately a class act, he should have been seriously upset, but his take on it was…that’s racing and that is so true. Johnson is just showing what any normal racing american would be showing…terrible unhappiness and anger because he was wrecked by a team mate. Some people are going to be upset and say hey he did it on purpose because he is fighting with the other Hendricks members. I would really like to know what started this dispute in the first place…Apparently it is with the entire bunch…all three teams. Makes you wonder doesn’t it?
Guess I’m in the minority here but in my view Vickers didn’t do anything different than Jr, JJ, Gordon or Stewart hasn’t done in the past themselves and gotten away with it. I don’t understand how all of you all of the sudden want to strip this guy of the trophy. Idf anything, in a sense it’s Johnson’s fault for trying the move when he did…he lost a little momentum trying to pass and Vickers grazed him. Jr even said as much! Besides, any chance to see twinkie boy Jimmie Johnson get spun is a good day in my book!
BTW, this is a great F@#$ing site! Bout time we find a site where we can vent!!
Well i can say it’s fun to see Jimmie and Junior take each other out on the last lap, when do you ever get to see that!?
Ok, Brian Vikcers to nothing wrong in that race. That is what we call “racing” people. You cannot sit here and compliain that he doesn’t deserve this race because if it was Dale Jr or Johnson that did this, you would all see it as nothing. Brian made a mistake, they happen. There are alot more drivers who HAVE done that sort of move on purpose to win a race. Johnson was being too careful and he held Brian up. It is nice to see some class from Jr after the race though, he is the only person who can see Brian wasnt trying to wreck anybody. And Brian did nothing wrong by bump drafting, the “no bump drafting” zones were in the corners, not on the straightaways were Brian did it. I dont agree with bump drafting but he broke no rules
I totally agree with Ghost and Cody. I’m sure theres been plenty of other drivers thats done something like that. Brian didn’t do anything wrong and he DID NOT do it on purpose. I’m really happy for Brian. He really deserves this win and quite frankly, for him to dedicate his first win to his late best friend makes it even better.It’s just racing. There will be plently of other races and championships and it won’t be a last time that nascar fans see a move similar to last weeks race. Racers have done it and will do it in the future.IT’S RACING.
Ghost is nearly right…he almost said it…knocking cars out of the way is the SOP! It’s the accepted thing..Dale, Sr. did it repeatedly…and Tony Stewart?? Give me a break, people, this is Nascar..that’s what they do!
Actually, it appeared that Vickers might have been trying to bump draft his team mate past Junior. Either way, until Nascar legislates against such practices, it will continue. Did you see all of the bumping previously in the race? Then why is it wrong on the last lap? If Nascar wants to change the nature of the game, then they should take action!!
OK, first off, I am a Jr. fan and I was at the race. I really hated that we did not get to see the exciting finish between the 3 that it was going to be, that was heartbreaking. I knew Jr. wasn’t going to win because Johnson kept getting a good run on him in turns 3 and 4, but it was going to be a good finish regardless. Oh well, what happened, happened. I do think however, that Brian needs to step up and take blame that he screwed up and quit trying to blame Junior because I watched replay after replay and Junior did try to block, but immediately backed off when he knew he didn’t have it, I think Brian just got a little excited.
It will come back on Brian in the future, so I am not worried, I just hate we didn’t get to see the exciting finish all the way to the checkered flag. Love you Junior and thanks for being so classy about the whole deal.
I haven’t been watching NASCAR for too long & since I have been watching, I have seen nothing that made me so furious than what Vickers did on Sunday. That was pure & simple selfish rookie driving & I am glad he will be leaving Hendricks Motor Sports at the end of the season. So long!
I think most of you all are letting your opinions of drivers get in the way of seeing what really happened. 48 made his move 25 followed, 8 makes a slight block, 48 cuts sharply (over reacting) scrubbing off speed (result of a combination of having to cut a hole in the wind and move quickly to the side.)25 (who is in a great draft and not losing any velocity)goes to push 48 some more but when he moves down 48 has slowed and he clips the rear quarter by 2 or 3 inches. Simple physics occurring at nearly 200 MPH. Furthermore if it were a Black 3 that did it most everybody would have just let it go.
Looks like all the Earnhardt fans are hacked off! Vickers obviously didn’t do it on purpose, unlike now countless incidents involving guys like Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch and, the master of bump and run, Dale Earnhardt, Sr.
Vickers knew he had to be right on Johnson’s bumper when he moved out for Jimmie (and him) to have a chance at getting by Earnhardt, and he mis-timed it. It didn’t help that Earnhardt blocked and Johnson swerved.
This is the NASCAR most of you want, so take a deep breath and accept it like good race fans, not the ********* wonders down in Alabama who throw stuff on the track. Morons.
Well I am another one of those Jr. Fans. I am still disgusted by what happened to Jr. in the race Sunday. Vicker’s shouldn’t be able to keep the dang win first of all and I think his butt should be fined like hell. I mean in my opinion it was intentional and totally wrong and it wasn’t “just racing”. If he actually knew how to bump draft correctly he wouldn’t have done that. And taking out his own teammate was wrong. I don’t like Johnson but I have to give it to him. I would have either jumped out of my car and went to Victory Lane and whooped his butt or else I would have caught Vickers somewhere last night and did it. I mean he isn’t even in the chase and he did that. So therefore in my opinion people that aren’t even in the chase shouldn’t be able to get into the race after the cut off. If Nascar wants them to still be able to race then don’t have the freakin chase to begin with. And if I were Jr. I would have went to Victory Lane and whooped his @$$. Plain and simple and wouldn’t care about what Nascar fined me with.
I was sitting in the Allison Grandstands when it all took place. I am a Junior fan and people around me including myself were going crazy! The fact that Junior ran FANTASTIC all day rocks and he even came back from a lap down, it’s his victory. I like Jimmie Johnson as well, so If JJ had gotten beside him without the @sshole Vickers behind him, it would have been a fantastic finish. Junior deserves that win, and Brian Vickers deserves to get his @ss beat. I’ll be in charlotte next weekend, and believe me, ass soon as he comes out on that stage, he will get booed. To spin your own teammate into Jr. to get your win(out of spite) is downright disgraceful. Vickers should be denied the trophy and if nothing else, give it to Kasey Kahne if you dont want to give it to Jr, he deserves it more that Vickers. But we can see who the REAL gentleman in the matter was: Dale Earnhard, Jr. He was so subdued in his post race commentary. I would have beat his ass. Plus he WAS 5th in point before he got spun, after that he dropped back to 6th, so he DID move one place up. Thats it from me.
Excuse me??? Toothless wonders in Alabama??? I have you know that the majority of the people at that race are not even from Alabama. I don’t think it is fair to associate and assume. Plus, when alcohol is involved, you can pretty much expect the unexpected.
Just a polite reminder: Please refrain from personal attacks of any kind when you comment or we will have edit your comments. We realize this is a hotbutton issue but keep it clean folks…now vent away!
Toothless or teeth, Alabama or Colorado, my point was that the people that throw objects onto the track (mysteriously more at Talledega than anywhere) are pieces of s*** and not real race fans. So, I AM attacking them personally. That behavior is unacceptable.
Vickers didn’t do it on purpose, and Jimmie Johnson’s a little whiny baby. I never liked him now I know why.
Welcome to the WWE of racing!
you all need to grow up. what’s the point of threatnening Brian? that just shows how immature you are. how old are you people? how many times has junior wrecked people for the win? what are you going to say to that? it’s just a racing deal…well that’s what happened with Brian. if he did it on purpose would he apologize? Junior accepted it, so should all of you.