Monday
Scott Speed, Brian Vickers, Post-AMP Energy 500 NSCS Race Recaps
Press Release
What: Talladega 500 (Sprint Cup)
When: Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009
Where: Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Ala.
Results: Scott Speed (start 38, finish 27); Brian Vickers (start 12, finish 13)
+ THAT’S TALLADEGA FOR YOU
Restrictor-plate racing robbed Scott Speed of a solid finish and Brian Vickers of a better one Sunday, because in typical Talladega fashion all heck broke loose heading to the white flag.
Vickers finished 13th and Speed 27th, but both can thank a 14-car accident for stripping Red Bull Racing Team of potentially two top 10s.
Like several cars just trying to survive to the end of the Talladega 500, both Red Bull Toyotas — Speed in the No. 82 and Vickers in the No. 83 — took the stay-inthe-back-and-stay-out-of-trouble approach. The race ran relatively clean until about 25 laps remained, partly because NASCAR stressed its desire for no bump drafting in the corners.
“It was a lot calmer out there,” Vickers noted. “It made the middle part of the race a little more boring.”
But it soon got dicey when it became go-time, and Ryan Newman’s flight into turn three with five laps to go forced a red flag and a green-white-checkered finish. At that point, Vickers was scored in fourth. Speed took four tires and fuel before the red flag and lined up 27th, but crept to 13th for the restart as more cars hit pit road with fuel concerns.
Coming to the white flag, Kurt Busch’s No. 2 got turned and T-boned the right side of Speed’s car. Speed became a passenger, drifted back into traffic and tagged his teammate as others drilled him. Mark Martin’s car even went airborne.
Vickers managed to correct a wiggling No. 83 and continued on to finish 13th. Speed’s battered No. 82 couldn’t make it back around for the final lap, scored the first car a lap down in 27th.
“Our car was awesome,” Speed said. “We waited for the big one to happen ahead of us. Overall, we’re happy with the car but not the result.”
Both drivers kept their respective positions in points. Vickers ranks 12th in the driver standings — 119 points out of 10th. Speed’s No. 82 sits 36th in the car owner standings — 135 points behind 35th.
+ UP NEXT
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- Red Bull Racing Team, Press Release
Article Tags: AMP Energy 500, NASCAR, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NSCS, Red Bull Racing Team, Scott Speed, Talladega Superspeedway, Toyota Motorsports, TSS
