Catchfence

Who: Scott Speed (82 Red Bull Toyota), Brian Vickers (83 Red Bull Toyota)
What: NASCAR Banking 500 (Sprint Cup)
When: Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009
Where: Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.
Results: Scott Speed (start 16, finish 28); Brian Vickers (start 30, finish 34)

+ HOME IS WHERE THE HEADACHE IS

Scott Speed gained ground on the top 35, while Red Bull Racing teammate Brian Vickers lost even more in the Chase on Saturday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

A 28th-place finish in the NASCAR Banking 500 is hardly spectacular, but Speed and the No. 82 team continued to chip away at the big picture, which would be worry-free qualifying days for the first five races of the 2010 season. Speed’s No. 82 Red Bull Toyota entered the chilly night 36th in the car owner standings and 122 points behind 35th. He left in 36th, but is only 98 points back — the first time Speed’s dipped below the 100-point mark since the Sept. 6 race at Atlanta.

He has five more chances to erase the deficit and ensure himself a starting spot in February’s Daytona 500.

“We just really missed it in the early runs,” said Speed, who qualified 16th and despite having a strong car never could show it while running a lap down.

“Otherwise, we had a good weekend. It’s certainly nice to finally pick up some points. If we can continue to do that the rest of the season, I don’t see any reason why we can’t get back into the top 35.”

Vickers’ latest tale of woe began on a lap 124 restart. With Vickers running 23rd, a gaggle of cars checked up just ahead, and the No. 83 emerged with damage to the right front. Vickers reported a tire rub, spotter Chris Lambert confirmed it and the team was forced to pit under green on lap 129.

The stop cost Vickers two laps. Also damaged in the incident was the splitter, and the crew used three consecutive stops on laps 166-168 for repairs. Vickers rode out the remaining half of the race and finished four laps down in 34th.

Vickers described the first half of NASCAR’s postseason as “disastrous.” And for good reason, as mechanical gremlins and old-fashioned bad luck have led to finishes of 11th, 18th, 37th, 29th and 34th. He’s 12th in the standings — 113 points behind 11th-place Denny Hamlin and 123 behind Carl Edwards in 10th.

“I don’t know how the car got so messed up,” Vickers said. “I have bumped the pace car under caution to say ‘hey’ harder than that before. I saw them checking up in front of me, but it seemed like they almost came to a stop.”

+ UP NEXT

Tums Fast Relief 500, Sunday, Oct. 25, Martinsville Speedway

- Red Bull Racing Team, Press Release