Brian Vickers got his first Nextel Cup victory in controversial fashion Sunday at Talladega. Credit: Autostock

Vickers didn't mean to cause last-lap mayhem

No. 25 driver was helping his teammates to the front all race long

With one swift move, Brian Vickers had his first Nextel Cup Series victory, he also had lots of questions to answer. Vickers controversial win put him in an unfortunate spot light and further widened the rift between he and his current Hendrick teammates.

	Marty Snider
	SOUND OFF •   Give Marty your take

I personally think that Vickers didn't mean to do it. I believe him when he says that he was simply trying to help his teammate, for the previous 187 laps that's all Vickers did was help by pushing his teammates through traffic. But let's just point out a couple of facts here:

• In the May race at Talladega, the roles were reversed and it was Johnson asking Vickers to forgive him in the post-race interviews. Vickers was out front with one lap to go when Johnson ditched him rather tersely en route to the win.

• And Vickers does have a history of controversial victories, in the Nextel All-Star Challenge race last year, Vickers also won by spinning out Mike Bliss as they came to the checkered flag.

Johnson and Junior fans point to those two facts and say,"see he did do it intentionally." Certainly that's what the fans at Talladega thought as they threw beer cans and other items at Victory Lane from the grandstands as Vickers exited the car.

I tend, however, to take the tact of Dale Earnhardt Jr. who said, "this stuff just happens at Talladega."

It does.

For now, all we can do it take Brian Vickers at his word. And no matter how much venom the Johnson and Junior fans spew at Vickers, they will never gain back the points they lost.

There is one lesson Vickers should learn from this though: If there is one place you ought not wreck Dale Earnhardt Jr., it's Talladega. If I were Vickers, from now on I would hire the biggest and best security team I could each time I went back to Talladega. He's gonna need it because they will not forget and no matter how much politicking he does, they will never forgive.

Surprising move?

Many people (including myself) were shocked by Mark Martin's swift move to MB2 Motorsports next season. In retrospect, however, should we really be that surprised? Think about it like this: Martin gave Roush Racing and more specifically Jack Roush and team president Geoff Smith almost a year to come up with a plan to keep Martin on board. He even gave them the guidelines to what he wanted, to run all of the Craftsman Truck and Nextel Cup companion weekends -- that's it.

Either not being good listeners or arrogantly stubborn, they continually tried to change the deal. They offered him a full-time Craftsman Truck Series ride -- not what he wanted. They wanted him to come back and drive the 6 car full-time again next season -- not what he wanted.

	MB2 Motorsports announced Joe Nemchek will move out of the No. 01 Army car next year. Credit: Autostock
	MARTIN TO NO. 01 Mark Martin announced at Talladega that he is leaving Roush Racing to share the No. 01 MB2 Motorsports car with Regan Smith next year.  •   Complete story, click here Garage PassMark Martin ends Ford relationship for MB2 Motorsports Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Roush and Martin met again about a month ago so Mark could reiterate his desires. No change in the offer from Roush. In fact, they wanted him to find a sponsor for the part-time Cup program.

So Martin, tired of the antics after 19 years of loyal service, put his name on the open market. Who could blame him? Two days later, MB2 calls, they start talking. Martin laid out his wish list and seven days later a letter of intent rolls across the fax machine. What never happened in almost a year of frustrating negotiations with Roush happened in a little more than a week with MB2.

Martin liked the offer but thought of one more request. He called MB2 general manager Jay Frye and three hours later a new letter of intent came across the fax machine, the wish list was complete.

Folks, that is why Mark Martin signed with MB2 Motorsports, they wanted Mark Martin, they aggressively pursued him and simply gave him what he wanted. Doesn't a driver of Mark Martin's stature deserve at least that?

I said months ago this whole process was about one thing ... family. Martin wanted to spend more time with his son Matt and he wanted to race with him. Now Mark gets 15 weekends with Matt that he would have otherwise never gotten and quality time they both will cherish for the rest of their lives.

It is sad to me that the leadership at Roush Racing could not see past dollar amounts or their own selfish needs to give the man who has been so loyal to them what he wanted. The company line is that they didn't have a program to fit what Mark wanted to do next season.

Hogwash.

You mean to tell me that a company as big and as powerful as Roush Racing is, they could not create any kind of program Mark Martin wanted to reward him for 19 years? When Terry Labonte went to Rick Hendrick and laid out what he wanted to do in his final season, Hendrick didn't hesitate. In that very meeting (not drug out over a year) Hendrick said he would make it happen and he has.

Mark Martin did not fail Roush Racing, Roush Racing failed Mark Martin.

And to you diehard Ford fans (one of whom said on a message board he hopes Martin wrecks in every race next season): grow up. I hope you can be mature enough to see past your devotion to understand that this was a decision based on family and not corporate loyalty.

Teiring the Chasers

Talladega certainly changed the Chase picture -- I think in a good way. Things are tight as we head to Charlotte and a lot more people are in the game.

Tier 1

• Jeff Burton (no change)

Burton held on to his points lead despite cutting a tire late in the race at Talladega. Had that tire not been cut, it might just be a three-man race. A lot of good tracks are on the horizon for Burton, but they need to be aggressive in these final six races in order to pull out the championship.

• Matt Kenseth (no change)

Brian Vickers earned his first career victory in the UAW-Ford 500. Credit: Autostock

UAW-Ford 500 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Brian Vickers Chevy 2. Kasey Kahne Dodge 3. Kurt Busch Dodge 4. Matt Kenseth Ford 5. Martin Truex Jr. Chevy 6. Kevin Harvick Chevy 7. Jeff Green Chevy 8. Mark Martin Ford 9. Carl Edwards Ford 10. Bobby Labonte Dodge • Complete results, click here Chase for the Nextel Cup After Talladaga (4th of 10 races) Pos. +/- Driver Behind 1. -- Jeff Burton Leader 2. +2 Matt Kenseth -6 3. -- Mark Martin -10 4. +1 Kevin Harvick -33 5. -3 Denny Hamlin -51 6. +1 D. Earnhardt Jr. -106 7. -1 Jeff Gordon -147 8. -- Jimmie Johnson -156 9. +1 Kasey Kahne -185 10. -1 Kyle Busch -185 • Complete standings, click here Victory LaneBrian Vickers celebrates in Victory Lane at Talladega Top finishersBurton, Martin and Kahne talk about Sunday's race Frustrating finishJimmie Johnson talks about getting knocked out on the last lap UnluckyDale Jr. tries to figure out what went wrong on the final lap Final lapsBrian Vickers rolls to the checkers after some controversy Gordon goneJeff Gordon is upset after getting caught up in a multi-car wreck Big wreckThe Big One wrecks over 10 cars in Talladega Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Hanging around them, you get the feeling that the 17 has righted the ship and boy do they have a load of good tracks coming up for them.

The one concern for the 17 team is Martinsville. They have to get their brake issues worked out before then. So to work on that problem, Kenseth will be testing several new brake packages this week at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, S.C. Now only six points out of the lead and heading to Charlotte one of his best tracks, Kenseth may be your new leader next week.

• Kevin Harvick (+1)

If Harvick can win this championship somehow, the past two weeks will be the reason why. They took a 30th-place car and finished 15th with it at Kansas because they made some aggressive changes during the race. Then they got into the first big wreck at Talladega, fixed the car and somehow managed to finish sixth.

Charlotte is traditionally not Harvick's best track, but in the spring he was running well and lost a transmission. The next two weeks are critical for the 29 team.

• Mark Martin (+2)

How does Martin jump up two tiers? Because he is plodding along while everybody else is coming back to him. This team is capable of finishing up front enough to win the championship, but I am not sure they have enough overall speed to win a race in these final six. If Martin can find a way to win a race and gain some points on his competitors, it will most likely be in the next few weeks, as Charlotte, Martinsville and Atlanta are all strengths for the 6 team.

• Denny Hamlin (no change)

Hamlin somehow has survived the worst part of the Chase for him and yet he's been able to hang around in the top five the whole time.

To have the problems he has endured the past two weeks and be just 51 points out of the championship lead is remarkable. All of the tracks left on the schedule play right into the 11 team's hand.

Tier 2

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. (no change)

Talladega was going to be it. This was going to be the chance for Dale Jr. to catch the rest of the Chase field, but alas it wasn't meant to be. Charlotte will be a tough test for the 8 team but Martinsville and Atlanta seem to be strengths. If they want to win the championship they must start developing some consistency in these final six races.

• Jimmie Johnson (No Change)

Maybe I'm drinking the Kool-aid but I still think Johnson can win this championship. My basis for that theory is simply that they have the overall speed each week to pull it off. They could win Charlotte, Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas or Homestead. Do that and they definitely win it all. The only remaining track of true concern is Phoenix.

If you stopped the last two races with five to go Johnson finishes first and second instead of 14th and 24th. That's a dramatic swing and they're still just 156 points out of the lead.

Tier 3

• Jeff Gordon (-2)

Two consecutive weeks of disappointing finishes have knocked Gordon down, but not quite out. The 24 team doesn't have the overall speed that their teammate Johnson does, but it still can win the championship.

Once his favorite track, Gordon needs to turn things around at Charlotte this weekend where he has struggled recently. But Martinsville is on deck and that is all but a guaranteed top-five for Gordon. After Martinsville we will see where the 24 truly stands.

Tier 4

Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne (no change)

Both Busch and Kahne were impressive at Talladega and are now both one full race worth of points (185) out of the lead in ninth and 10th. This weekend starts the fun stretch for Kahne with four 1.5 mile tracks in six races.

For both drivers, there's nothing left but to try and steal a few a wins. Kahne may rattle off a few victories in these final few but he will need tons of help to make some noise in the battle for the Nextel Cup.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.