CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- They arrived at Time Warner Cable Arena on Wednesday night on a feel-good mission.

The seven members of the pit crew for the No. 83 Toyota that Brian Vickers normally drives for Red Bull Racing wanted to win the sixth annual Sprint Pit Crew Challenge for their ailing driver. Vickers, a seemingly vibrant and healthy 26-year-old, was pulled from the car for an indefinite period last week after complaining of chest pains and being hospitalized in Washington D.C. After going through a battery of tests, it was determined by physicians that Vickers had developed several blood clots in his veins -- including one in or around his lungs and at least one in his legs.

Like the rest of the racing world, the members of Vickers' No. 83 pit crew were floored by this totally unexpected development.

"We were surprised by the news just like everyone else," said Mike Metcalf, the gas man on the 83 crew. "Every time we catch up with him, he just went rock-climbing or he just went skydiving. He's just all over the place doing some pretty radical stuff. So to hear this was pretty shocking -- especially about a kid who appeared to be so healthy."

Vickers and Jay Frye, general manager of Red Bull Racing, plan to meet with the media in a news conference this Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is expected that they will announce that Vickers will miss considerable time -- at least two or three months and perhaps even the rest of the season -- because he will be unable to race while he is on blood-thinner medication. His team appears to be among those expecting that to be the case.

Sensing this, they arrived Wednesday night with their goal being to give Vickers -- and Red Bull Racing -- something to smile about.

"We were inspired to come out here and give a good effort for him," said Shaun Peet, who doubles as the team's strength and conditioning coach and also as the jackman on Vickers' car. "We don't see Brian a whole lot, but we want him to know we're thinking about him. You know, he's a tough guy -- and tough guys outlast tough times. We're banking on the fact that he'll get better and eventually will give us what he gave us last year." (Continued)