Vickers balancing desire to win at the Brickyard with Chase aspirations
By SceneDaily Staff
Sunday, July 27, 2008
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INDIANAPOLIS - Brian Vickers has to find a way to balance his desire to win today's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and his chance to make the Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup.
That might not be as easy as it sounds. Vickers is 14th in the standings, two positions and 95 points outside of the Chase field with seven races to go before the championship-determining group is locked in. That could lead to some tough decisions, not only in Sunday's Allstate 400 but in all of those remaining races.
“I definitely want to win the race," the Red Bull Racing driver said. "If we can win the race without taking too many risks then I think that’s what we’ll try to do. At the same time, with an opportunity to be in the Chase - you’ve got to weigh that. A win here would be pretty special, but is it worth ruining your chance for the Chase? I don’t think it is.”
Vickers has steadily improved over the course of this season and knows that he's in good position to continue to gain ground. The question is, does he have enough momentum to push him into the 12-driver Chase field? Only, he says, if his team continues to work the way it has up to this point.
"It’s not going to be easy - we just have to stay focused and continue to work hard," he said. "No matter how good we run one week, we’ve got to work that much harder the next week to do it again.”
And to make the Chase, he needs to be able to have solid finishes. He understands that - and the difference in a good points day and a daring move to risk a win. But he's trying not to get too caught up in it.
"We have to finish races," Vickers said. "We have to stay out of trouble. The difference between finishing fifth and finishing seventh or
sixth versus 10th is not going to make or break you in the Chase. The difference between finishing ninth and going for the eighth place spot and finishing 43rd – that will make or break you in the Chase. Losing a left-rear tire like we did at Charlotte – that will make or break you in the Chase. Once you get in the top 10, those differences are very minute.
"It could separate you from getting in the Chase, but I don’t get caught up in that. I think it’s the very bad runs, it’s the very bad decisions on the race track, the broken parts, the wheels coming off, the engine failures – it’s the things like that that put you 30th or 35th that will keep you from getting in the Chase.”
So what will it take to get into the Chase? Vickers said that he thinks a top-10 finish in each of the upcoming races just might be enough to lock him into the field.
“I think we can make it," he said. "It depends a lot on how everybody else runs. If I had to take a stab at it, I would say that if you post all top-10s between now and Richmond, you’re almost going to guarantee yourself a place in the Chase and top-15s you will probably be in the Chase as well.”
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Brian Vickers
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