Bob Pockrass: I find Brian Vickers’ win more exciting than spat with Kyle Busch
Red Bull Racing's Brian Vickers celebrates in victory lane after winning Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway. // Sam Cranston, NASCAR Scene
COMMENTARY
So what was the most exciting, entertaining story of the weekend at Michigan International Speedway? Was it the great final 30 laps and the little spat between Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers that followed in the Nationwide Series race? Or was it the fuel-mileage drama with Brian Vickers earning Red Bull Racing’s first victory in the Sprint Cup event?
Call me crazy, but I’m voting for the Cup race. From what I can tell, I am in the minority on this one, with some of my friends who can’t get enough of the Busch-Vickers drama.
Granted, the Cup race didn’t have a driver getting out of his car, going to the window of the other driver and yelling at him. And then it didn’t have that driver get out of his car, approach the driver and have that driver tug on his visor. And it didn’t have those two drivers uncomfortably sitting in a postrace interview session that was awkward as they ripped on each other like two political candidates except there didn’t seem to be much respect.
But the Cup race did have an element that the Nationwide race didn’t have. It had a new team in victory lane.
That just doesn’t happen very often, especially in the Sprint Cup Series. It happened earlier this year with Stewart-Haas Racing, and even though that team gets cars from Hendrick Motorsports, that victory had a special vibe to it as well.
Red Bull entered Sprint Cup competition at the same time as Toyota, and it nearly fell flat on its face. It missed several races as both cars languished outside the top 35. In its second year, it still had one car that went throughout the season outside the top 35. And this year, it still has a car outside the top 35. Several times – and even recently – rumors flew about the parent company in Austria reconsidering its commitment to NASCAR.
The organization has gone through several transitions in administration. Marty Gaunt got it started, but then he got pushed out when Guenther Steiner came in from the Formula One team and tried to shake things up as technical director. Steiner was gone in about a year.
Vickers has had several crew chiefs, from Doug Richert to Randy Cox to Kevin Hamlin to finally Ryan Pemberton, a buddy of Jay Frye’s whose last win came with Frye and driver Joe Nemechek with MB2 Motorsports.
To see this group finally reach victory lane, after seven poles, one runnerup finish and seven top-fives was truly a spectacular moment. This is what NASCAR is all about. If you have the sponsorship, you can come in and compete. And not only compete, you can win.
It took a lot of money and took a lot of time, and knowing what that organization went through made Sunday exciting.
Now I know what you’re saying: Are you nuts? A little sappiness on the American dream being fulfilled in NASCAR for Brian Vickers and a company based in Austria is more exciting than a near-fight between Vickers and NASCAR bad boy Busch?
Um, yes. Kyle Busch getting mad after a race? Seen it before. A driver yelling at another driver? Seen it before. The only thing cool about it was a Nationwide regular (Brad Keselowski) won an event that should have been won by either of the two Cup guys. Throw in that Keselowski is from Michigan, and that was a feel-good story, too.
But just knowing that a group can start a team from scratch and employ experienced people and accomplish their goal on the sport's biggest stage was just cool. We probably won’t see it again this year.
First-time winners are entertaining. Not to say sore losers and a third-to-first upset run at the end of the race aren’t. Just not as much.
