There has been a ton of talk over the past 48 hours about David Ragan's Las Vegas finish. While I agree that it is a great improvement, I must also think we need to be weary of jumping to conclusions. When did 1 top 10 become an arrival? Derrick Cope won the Daytona 500 and as best I can tell that didn't exactly spark a memorable career.
My point isn't to take away from Ragan's finish, but to say that in a sport where consistency is king there is someone else that I am becoming thoroughly impressed with.
Brian Vickers.
He has quietly been putting together something rather special. We're 3 races into the 2008 season and even though he has had to qualify on time for all 3 events, Brian has competed in all 3 events. Not only has he competed, he's performed as well. Right now the Red Bull car is setting pretty at #13 in the point standings, which is a ride saving run at this point. Red Bull can't afford to spend another season trying to get into every event on speed and thanks to the #83 they won't have too.
Last year, in a startup team no less, Vickers was the flag ship for Toyota. Sure, Michael Waltrip had the commercials and David Blaney was praised for his consistency, but Vickers was the guy. He averaged 1 position better than Blaney for the year, but more importantly he was in the mix for wins. Until he had a problem in the 600 last year it seemed like he was on a mission to get Toyota its 1st win. If it weren't for the Gibbs switch I had every dollar on the #83 bringing Toyota its 1st Cup points win. While the Busch/Stewart/Hamlin trio may be the odds on favorite to hand deliver a trophy to Tokyo, I'm still not counting out the kid who looks a little too much like the Notre Dame leprechaun...hey, it is March isn't it?
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