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Michigan: Red Bull NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Recap
Who: Scott Speed (82 Red Bull Toyota), Brian Vickers (83 Red Bull Toyota)
What: LifeLock 400 (Sprint Cup)
When: Sunday, June 14, 2009
Where: Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Mich.
Results: Scott Speed (start 21, finish 37); Brian Vickers (start 1, finish 9)
+ LATE TO THE PARTY
Stock cars haven’t raced 500 miles at Michigan since the track’s first NASCAR race in 1969. Brian Vickers wouldn’t have minded 100 more in Sunday’s LifeLock 400, because by the time the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota showed the speed it did in winning the pole it was too late.
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Vickers started first for the eighth time in his career and second straight at Michigan International Speedway, but the car couldn’t keep up and fell out of the top 10 after green-flag pit stops cycled through. His first “really loose” reference came 25 laps in, and despite a series of changes over four stops the car’s handling condition remained the same.
It wasn’t until the final stop — on lap 152 of 200 — that the No. 83 reacted to wedge and air-pressure adjustments to the right rear. Vickers picked up two spots on pit road and restarted 15th with 44 laps to go. Relaying that the car was “by far the best it’s been all day,” Vickers charged into the top 10 for the first time since the first stop.
The race went green to the end, and Vickers, in conservation mode, finished ninth in a race ultimately decided by fuel mileage. He picked up a position when the No. 48 ran dry and fell out of the top 20.
“Obviously, not how we wanted to finish,” Vickers said. “We were happy with the car in practice, and today we started off and it was just really, really, really loose. We fought it all day. We got it fixed on the last run, but we ran out of time. “The car felt completely different than it did yesterday. We finished practice a little tight, and I was thinking the car would be good. I’ve never seen (the track) change that much.”
The top-10 finish was Vickers’ sixth of the season. He remained 17th in the standings, picking up only seven points in the race to the Chase. He’s 136 points out with 11 races remaining before the Chase begins Sept. 20 at New Hampshire. Like his teammate, No. 82 driver Scott Speed endured the same tale of handling woe. Reporting a vibration, Speed retreated to the garage on lap 126 so the team could repair a broken gear. He returned to the track 24 laps later running 38th and finished 37th. The No. 82 ranks 36th in the car owner standings — 53 points from the top 35.
+ UP NEXT
Toyota/SaveMart 350, Sunday, June 21, 2009, Infineon Raceway
PaddockTalk Perspective
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