A fine line

By DAVID GREEN

Word is that Lowe's Motor Speedway is providing extra security for Brian Vickers, to ensure his safety during activities over the coming weekend, in the aftermath of the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega.

It's not a bad idea. After all, Vickers won his first race at the expense of one of the sport's most popular drivers -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- who was crashed out of the lead when Vickers tagged his teammate, Jimmie Johnson, in a battle on the final lap. The security personnel will be on the lookout for people wearing both Budweiser and Lowe's apparel.

But it's good promotion, too. I can almost see the twinkle in Humpy Wheeler's eye.

Getting beyond the theatrical aspects of it, let's dissect Vickers' actions at Talladega.

Vickers says he was trying to help Johnson by drafting with him. The two were able to drop back and create a gap between Johnson and Earnhardt, giving them the space to make a run off Turn 2, gaining momentum in their two-car draft. They were closing rapidly down the backstretch, and Junior was a sitting duck.

When Johnson veered left to go inside Earnhardt, he made a fairly sharp cut. Two things blunted his momentum -- friction, from the change in direction on the track, and air, as he moved out of Earnhardt's slipstream. Vickers was close behind, and he made his left turn just a fraction of a second after Johnson. His car did not lose the momentum Johnson's had already lost, so instead of tucking in behind him, he drove into the right rear corner of Johnson's car.

That sent Jimmie spinning into Earnhardt, and then both were out of control on the infield grass while Vickers motored on. All he had to do was wait for NASCAR's confirmation that he was, indeed, the winner.

I've not been very fond of Vickers ever since he cold-bloodedly dumped Mike Bliss on the final lap to win the all-star consolation race a couple of years ago. He should have been disqualified for that move. But in this incident, I think he deserves to be exonerated.

It's the nature of racing at Talladega that drivers must work in packs (or at least pairs), rather than in conventional solo action. It's a fine line between helping someone move forward and "helping" them wreck. It's a wonder these things don't happen more often.

Earnhardt Jr. took it better than his legions of fans, who showed their displeasure by turning the Talladega Superspeedway frontstretch into a garbage dump. Junior said he doubted Vickers saw the incident as an opportunity to wreck two guys and win his first race.

Johnson was less philosophical, as was his crew chief, Chad Knaus, who suggested Vickers is not a good enough driver to handle a situation such as the one that unfolded.

I agree with Junior and dismiss Knaus' comments as emotion-driven. I think Vickers was genuinely trying to help his teammate win. I'm not sure how many drivers, if any, could have precisely anticipated Johnson's move to the left, or could have perfectly slowed their own cars in order to avoid contact with the right-rear corner, or otherwise somehow avoided what happened.

The best way for Vickers to have avoided wrecking Johnson would have been to stay in line -- behind Earnhardt. That would have left Johnson hung out to dry.

Vickers is already the red-headed stepchild of the Hendrick organization. It has been made clear (by Jeff Gordon) that Vickers' job is to stay out of the other Hendrick drivers' way until he moves on to his Toyota ride next year.

Certainly, Vickers didn't want these circumstances for his first victory. Here's hoping Humpy's security forces can serve a P.R. purpose but won't be needed for anything besides that this weekend.