DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - To say that Brian Vickers appreciates the opportunity to drive the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet in place of injured Tony Stewart would be nothing short of a colossal understatement.
“If anything, I feel more rested than every single person in this garage,” Vickers said on Friday at Daytona International Speedway, as Stewart-Haas announced him as the interim driver for Stewart during Speedweeks. “I’m more hungry than every single person in this garage.
“I’m happier to be here, more appreciative.”
Vickers has good reason to feel both rested and appreciative. In fact, he has experienced more health issues over the past six years than the driver he is replacing. On three occasions during that span, Vickers has been forced to abandon a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ride because of blood clots, which originally were discovered in his legs and lungs in 2010.
“I think all those feelings and all those experiences and things I’ve learned will only contribute to success, not failure,” said Vickers, who has received clearance to race from his doctors and from NASCAR. “I feel good about it. I’m pumped. It’s a great opportunity.”
But it’s an opportunity that comes at Stewart’s expense, as Vickers was quick to note.
“It’s unfortunate that this is the car I’m in, because that means Tony’s not here,” Vickers said.
Stewart suffered a burst fracture of his L1 vertebra in a Jan. 31 all-terrain vehicle accident in the Glamis Dunes of California.
The three-time series champion had back surgery in North Carolina on Feb. 3 and will miss an indeterminate number of races as he recovers. Stewart, however, did hold an impromptu question-and-answer session with fans via the live-streaming application Periscope on Friday, as he worked out on a treadmill.
“We’ve been through a lot worse than this,” Stewart told his fans during the session.
In fact, Stewart missed the final 15 races of the 2013 season after breaking his leg in a sprint car accident in Iowa. In 2014, he missed three races after a sprint car he was driving at New York’s Canandaigua Speedway struck and killed fellow driver Kevin Ward, Jr., who had exited his car and approached Stewart’s after an accident involving the two cars.
Thus far, SHR hasn’t named substitute drivers for Stewart beyond Daytona Speedweeks.
“Obviously, the situation is fluid,” said Stewart-Haas president Brett Frood. “There are a lot of different scenarios and tentacles to every decision we’re making. We want to focus on Speedweeks. We want to come in here and give ourselves the best opportunity to win (Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited) and the Daytona 500.
“Then we’ll figured out Atlanta (Feb. 28) and the rest, and hopefully get Tony back in the car as soon as possible.”
Logano Stays Motivated As New Season Approaches
Two flirtations with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship and the continuing strength of the Team Penske organization over the past two years have only intensified Joey Logano’s desire to win a first title in the series.
To win, though, he’ll have to avoid the sorts of pitfalls that have derailed him. In 2014, a pit road snafu ruined his chances in the Championship Round race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Last year, a feud with Matt Kenseth culminating in a wreck at Martinsville knocked Logano out of the Chase in the Round of 8.
“The last two years have been career seasons for me,” Logano said on Friday at Daytona International Speedway. “I feel like we had two championship seasons without a trophy. We have a lot of confidence. We know what it takes to win this whole thing. We have been right on that edge. Arguably, with the most wins last year (six), we should have been there but that’s the way the format is, and that’s the way we play it, and it is what it is.
“I feel like I learned a lot as a driver the last few years and what I need to do to make it happen. I feel like I’ve found new levels as a driver to reach. I know I am a silver linings person, but I feel like that’s something you have to have, that confidence and not get beat down. I feel like there’s nothing to hold our heads down about. We’ve had two great seasons.”
This past season included a victory in the Daytona 500, but Logano will have to buck the odds to win back-to-back editions of the Great American Race. The last driver to win consecutive Daytona 500s was Sterling Marlin in 1994 and 1995.
WDUN will have live MRN Radio coverage of Saturday night's Sprint Unlimited from the Daytona International Speedway beginning at 7 pm on 102.9 FM.
