TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Brian Vickers isn't allowed to attend Hendrick Motorsports team meetings. Now he might not even be allowed in the building.

Vickers stole his first Nextel Cup victory Sunday by nudging teammate Jimmie Johnson into race leader Dale Earnhardt Jr., then skirting by the two spinning cars on the last lap at Talladega Superspeedway.

It robbed what looked to be a victory for Earnhardt and a solid chance for Johnson to resurrect his fading Nextel Cup title hopes. And it certainly spoiled what should have been a crowning moment for Vickers, who has just six races left in his Hendrick ride before his impending defection to a Toyota team.

"I got into Jimmie and I hate it," Vickers said. "The last thing I wanted to do was wreck either one of those guys, but what happened, happened. It wasn't intentional."  More