Stewart-Haas Racing confirms Brian Vickers as Tony Stewart's fill-in
Brian Vickers didn’t know if he would ever race again, but he’s found a good ride for Daytona this year.
Vickers was introduced Friday morning as the replacement driver for Tony Stewart in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet during Daytona Speedweeks.
Although he has not raced since early last season, Vickers said he’s more than ready to drive the No. 14 in both Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited (FOX, 8 p.m. ET) non-points race and the Daytona 500, which takes place Feb. 21 (FOX, noon ET).
Beyond Daytona, the team has not made a decision on a driver going forward, though FOXSports.com has learned that Ty Dillon will be behind the wheel of the No. 14 for an unspecified number of races.
“This is pretty special,” said Vickers. “I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to be in the Daytona 500 again.”
Appearing on Periscope from Charlotte minutes before an SHR press conference at Daytona International Speedway, Stewart endorsed Vickers as his fill-in.
“I’m real confident with Brian in it,” Stewart said of his car. “. . . It’s pretty cool to see how excited he is to get back in a car, too. He definitely deserves to be in a good car. He’s a good guy. He’s a good race-car driver and he’s had circumstances like mine.”
In 318 career Sprint Cup starts, Vickers has three victories, 29 top fives and 77 top 10s. His best season came in 2009, when he won at Michigan International Speedway from the pole driving for Red Bull and made the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
In recent years, recurring blood issues have hurt Vickers. In 2010, he missed 25 races with the first of a series of blood clots that also sidelined him later in his career, most recently in 2015 after competing in just two races.
Stewart is out of action indefinitely after he suffered a burst fracture of his L1 vertebra in an off-road accident January 31. Although Stewart is expected to make a full recovery and return to the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet to complete his final season of Cup racing, there is no timetable for his return.
When Stewart was sidelined, it appeared the No. 14 would not compete in the Sprint Unlimited, since it’s drivers who lock in, not cars or teams. But NASCAR gave SHR permission to be the 26th car in the Unlimited field.
SHR Vice President Greg Zipadelli said the opportunity to compete in the Unlimited would provide some needed seat time for Vickers prior to the Daytona 500.
“We had the opportunity to run, so why wouldn’t we?” said Zipadelli.
