Red Bull Racing hits stride with another strong finish

LONG POND, Pa. -- In a slow yet consistent pace, Brian Vickers, the same driver who failed to make 13 races last season, is making a chance at the Chase a possibility.

His runner-up finish to Kasey Kahne in Sunday's Pocono 500 is giving the Toyota driver an optimistic outlook for the remainder of the season.

Pocono 500

Official Results

Pos.	Driver	Make
1.	Kasey Kahne	Dodge
2.	Brian Vickers	Toyota
3.	Denny Hamlin	Toyota
4.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet
5.	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet
6.	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet
7.	Matt Kenseth	Ford
8.	Kurt Busch	Dodge
9.	Carl Edwards	Ford
10.	Mark Martin	Chevrolet

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The 2007 season for Vickers was a struggle. Both his manufacturer, Toyota, and his team, Red Bull Racing, were new to the sport, although Vickers would rebound after missing the Daytona 500 with a top-10 finish the following week in Fontana, Calif. Still, the remainder of the season was spotty.

He raced well on the track if and when he was able to qualify the car. Fortunately, the season ended with a bit of momentum that the driver has seemingly carried over to this season.

He came to Pocono, a track he has finished in the top five four times, with back-to-back top-10 finishes at Charlotte and Dover.

"I'm pleased but not satisfied," Vickers said following his runner-up finish Sunday. "I'm real proud of everybody ... I had a really good car there at the end and a good strategy and a good finish."

Red Bull teammate A.J. Allmendinger scored a career-best finish of 12th on Sunday.

The driver said his comfort level qualifying the car is increasing.

"Going and getting a lap and still making the race and not overdoing it," Allmendinger said. "But we've just been missing that good race to go out there. So it's good to finally just put everything together."

Vickers, who gained two spots and moved up to 17th in the point standings, attributes the progress to Red Bull Racing's growth.

"All around the team is growing and getting better," he said. "Stronger and better people are coming on board and the people already there are getting stronger and better."

Toyota has improved its engine packages as well, Vickers added.

"One year ago, how we were on power is a tremendous difference," he said.

Had he been on newer tires, Vickers said he may have been able to hold off Kahne's charge.

"It was tough," he said. "When I saw him in my mirror, I wouldn't say it was over, but I knew it was going to be tough. If we could have just stayed in front of him, or got far enough ahead of him to stay in front of him for another five or six laps ... I thought the tires would even out and we would hold him off. But he was still too fast and the tires were too good."