Red Bull Racing's Brian Vickers clears the air about Kyle Busch incident
Red Bull Racing driver Brian Vickers spoke to the media at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
BRISTOL, Tenn. - Red Bull Racing driver Brian Vickers said Friday that won’t be intimidated by Kyle Busch.
"I’m going to race him the way he races me, but he’s out of rope," Vickers said Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway, the site of tomorrow's Sharpie 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
The two made headlines last Saturday after battling late in the Nationwide Series race at Michigan International Speedway and then traded barbs after the race. In the race, they were fighting for the lead when Vickers tried to block Busch and Brad Keselowski slipped by both for the win. Friday, Vickers tried to put the incident behind him as he faced questions about Busch once more.
"Frankly, I don’t really care if Kyle Busch wins, and I’m proud of [Keselowski]," said Vickers, who will also compete in tonight's Nationwide race at Bristol. "Good for him. He snuck by both of us."
While Vickers realizes his top priority is to win races, he isn't about to change his demeanor.
"It’s my job to race for the win, and that’s what I want, is to win the race," Vickers said. "If I can’t win, I don’t really care who does, to be honest with you. My concern is not [Busch]. The way he got out of the car and how angry he was, I just feel bad for him."
Vickers understands that passion runs deep when racing, but he says that Busch's personae is not something he agrees with.
"I’m mad that I didn’t win the race, too," Vickers said. "To live with so much anger, I don’t know. It just must be miserable, to be honest with you. I don’t know what you expect out of someone who wants to win the race. I love what I do, and I’m very upset if I don’t win, but if that’s what it takes to win, then maybe I don’t want to, because I don’t want to live my life that miserable. I just don’t. It’s just not who I am. I just don’t want to be that upset because I didn’t win.”
