But his tenure with Hendrick was uneven, and he made the move to the upstart Red Bull team in 2007. Even
his only Cup win was a challenge emotionally. As a lame-duck driver for Hendrick in 2006, Vickers was
running third on the last lap of the fall race at Talladega when he made contact with teammate Jimmie
Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr., spinning out the leaders. He not only won by knocking out two drivers
battling in the Chase, but also by crashing the most popular driver at his most popular track.
Things did not improve in his first year with Red Bull as the team struggled to get its new Toyotas up to
speed. Vickers failed to qualify for 13 of the 36 races last year, but he enters Saturday's race tied for
15th in points, 35 points out of 12th, the final Chase-eligible position.
Secure in the top 35, Vickers no longer has to worry about missing races. The focus is race day, not
qualifying, and his results show the difference.
"This team has come a long way since Daytona and a tremendous way since last season," Vickers said. "I feel
like we have made a lot of gains that we are aware of, and we probably still have many we need to make that
we are unaware of. Red Bull Racing is still a young team, and we are learning every week. We have been
growing exponentially in my mind, though, as far as performance is concerned for over a year now."
Richmond is an important stop on the schedule. The Cup series returns to RIR in September for the final
race before the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup begins the following week. With limited testing available,
teams fighting to make the Chase will be working extra hard on finding a setup that will work Saturday and
again in September.
"We are putting a lot of effort into it," Vickers said. "It is very important to come back here in the fall
and have a good run. Obviously, because it is the last race before the Chase and we hope we will be in
contention when we return. Now is the time to start planning for it."
Fast facts
What: Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400.
Where: Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
When: 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
TV: Fox, 7 p.m. ET.
Radio: MRN/Sirius Satellite Ch. 128.
Track layout: 0.75-mile oval.
Race distance: 400 laps/300 miles.
2007 winner: Jimmie Johnson.
2007 polesitter: Jeff Gordon.
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