Vickers Sits On Pole For Michigan, Stewart And Newman, Olympic Racing
Written by Rocky Kitts · August 15, 2008
The last time that Brian Vickers sat on a pole, was 2006. Big difference between now and 2006? In 2006 he drove for Hendrick.
Now Vickers, of course, drives for Red Bull Racing, and this is the first time that team has put a driver on the pole in their two season existence. But when the 3M Performance 400 begins, Vickers and the Red Bull team will be leading the way.
Vickers is a good story this season. There has been a great deal of press for the Gibbs team and the job that they have done with their Toyotas, and rightfully so; especially since that Busch guy treats losing like it’s a disease. But what shouldn’t get lost in the shuffle is the improvement that the Red Bull team has made this season. Vickers finished 38th in the standings last season, and although he is still outside of the Chase, going from 38th to 17th is not too shabby. At least he knows that he gets to race from one week to another.
Vickers time of 188.536 mph was more than three-tenths of a second faster than Jimmie Johnson, who’ll hold down the second spot in the line.
Also, new BFFs Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman qualified 20th and 21st. It’s so nice to see them doing things together already! If you hadn’t heard already, apparently Stewart is starting his own team or something, and he told his people (because owners have people) that he wanted Newman to drive for him, so his people got with Newman’s people (or agent) and now Newman and Smoke are sort of a big deal. The announcement was made official today, although it was a worse-kept secret than the age of those Chinese gymnasts the other night. Please, I have socks that are older than those kids.
And something for you to think about in closing. With the Olympics as big as they are, why isn’t some kind of hybrid motor sport moved into the games? If done right, it could turn into one hell of a race of champions. And it would certainly beat the heck out of synchronized swimming. Which I watch of course, but only for the crashes.
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