Despite untruths, Vickers gets benefit of doubt

I nearly spit out my Banquet pot pie when Brian Vickers swore he didn't wreck people for victories.

The ending of the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega was far from funny. That is, until Brian Vickers opened his mouth.

Then it got pretty good.

	RYAN SMITHSON •   E-mail Ryan •   Opinion archive

Basically, Vickers stated that he didn't have much of a reputation for taking people out merely to get the win.

I briefly thought about getting Mike Bliss' comment on that statement, but I figured he wasn't around. Then I remembered he had just been hired to drive for BAM Racing. By the time that realization kicked in, it was time for Desperate Housewives.

Even though Bliss probably doesn't have a private plane, he was long gone, probably because he didn't want to miss Desperate Housewives. Not that I can blame him. It's a pretty good show from what I have read.

I honestly believe two things: Vickers deliberately meant to wreck Bliss to win the 2005 Nextel Open; Vickers didn't mean to wreck Jimmie Johnson last Sunday at Talladega.

For one thing: Chad Knaus was right. Vickers doesn't have enough talent to take out two cars. In all actuality, no one does. How could Vickers know that his hit on Jimmie Johnson would take out Dale Earnhardt Jr. as well?

He couldn't. He was trying to bump-draft Johnson so he could get a run of his own heading out of Turn 4. It almost worked. Instead, Vickers won.

It is sad that Vickers couldn't enjoy the win. It was an accident, a fluke, a win similar to Bobby Labonte at Homestead in 2003, when he won after a last-lap blown tire by Bill Elliott.

In other words, it was still a win, and no one noticed that it had been three years since the No. 25 Chevrolet had won.

Sad.

I have to wonder, though, when Vickers will get an honest chance for Victory No. 2. Talladega has a history of producing unlikely winners, a couple of whom (Phil Parsons, Jimmy Spencer) can be seen sharing their opinions on television these days.

Come to think of it, Vickers does, too.

Part-time schedule good for Martin

I just finished Bill Elliott's autobiography, and it was damn good. He had some good stuff in there, with a couple of recurring themes.

Victory LaneBrian Vickers celebrates in Victory Lane at Talladega 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 Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

• He and his brothers worked very hard to get into NASCAR.
• Teams bent the rules like crazy in the 1970s and 1980s

Because the book came out this week, his chapter on leaving the sport was especially timely. In the book, Elliott stated that he can actually enjoy racing now that is a part-time driver because he doesn't feel the pressure of a full-time season.

If Elliott is correct, it is obvious that Mark Martin will benefit from a similar schedule, maybe even more so.

Martin has always been a person that placed enormous demands on himself, and because he won't face any pressure to make the Chase, he might surprise some people.

I know that a lot of folks think that Elliott will return full-time to race for Red Bull Racing, but from reading the book, it doesn't appear that he has a desire to race the 36-race schedule.

For one thing, Elliott admitted that he tired easily late in the year during his years with Evernham, and things won't get any better next year 50 teams are vying for weekly spots in the field.

Of course, I could be wrong. Then again, I highly doubt Vickers will be taking out Red Bull teammate Bill Elliott next spring to win at Talladega.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.