NASCAR: Vickers takes foot off pedal in Utah

Brian Vickers, center, celebrates with crew members after winning the NASCAR Carfax 400 Sprint Cup Series auto race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Bob Brodbeck)

Even in the normally fast-paced life of NASCAR driver Brian Vickers, it's been an unusually hectic two weeks.

He earned the second victory of his Sprint Cup career in Michigan, ended months of speculation by finally signing a new contract with Red Bull Racing, renewed a public feud with fellow driver Kyle Busch, stayed alive in the race for the 2009 season championship with a 12th-place finish at Bristol, Tenn., and visited Utah to ride motorcycles.

Because of this weekend's break in the Sprint Cup schedule and at the urging of his girlfriend -- Speed TV host Erin Bates, who lives in Salt Lake City -- Vickers participated in Yamaha's two-wheel riding school at Miller Motorsports Park.

"She was telling me about this place -- that it's just incredible," Vickers said. "That's what brought me out here and, I've got to tell you, I'm very impressed. ... This is a tremendous facility."

Not that Vickers plans to start competing on motorcycles, even though he has ridden them since he was 16.

"I can assure you, right now I have no business racing one of these things," he said. "... It's fun and it's fast and I'm not going to say I'll never race a motorcycle. But my focus right now is on NASCAR."

Good idea.

Vickers is one of the top drivers in the world who, currently, is living on the edge. With only two races left before the 12-man lineup for the Chase to the season championship is finalized, he sits 14th in the point

Vickers needs good finishes at Atlanta and Richmond to erase a 39-point deficit and qualify for the Chase.

Asked if drivers in his position feel pressure, Vickers said, "I love what I do. I love racing. It's been extremely enjoyable to this point. But it's definitely pressure, too. It's work. You've got a task at hand and it's crunch time. You've got to put 100 percent on the table every lap."

In Michigan, Vickers scored a win that revitalized his Chase hopes. He edged Jimmie Johnson, who ran out of gas with two laps remaining.

A day earlier in the Nationwide race, Vickers also made headlines after finishing second to Brad Keselowski and one spot ahead of Busch, who characterized his late-race tactics as "just stupid."

At a post-race press conference, Vickers and Busch sat side-by-side and awkwardly answered questions.

Vickers defended his strategy and, later, said the confrontation was "ridiculous" and "unnecessary. ... I feel sorry for Kyle, that he lives that angry about something so small."

So, what about his feud with Busch?

"Kyle and I have had plenty of moments," Vickers said. "We have very different personalities. I'm not going to say one's better than the other. But they're different ... and that only adds to what happens on the racetrack."

Interestingly, Busch sits one spot ahead of Vickers in the season standings. It's possible one will qualify for the Chase and one will be left out.

"We're competitors," Vickers said. "We race each other very hard. He's gotten into me a few times [and] I've gotten into him a few times. ... I think we've set a precedent that I'm willing to wreck him and he's willing to wreck me. But, honestly, we usually race pretty good. We've had our run-ins, but I've had run-ins with everybody. That's part of racing because everybody's racing for one spot."

Besides, a heated rivalry isn't all bad.

Vickers calls the perceived feud between Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon in the 1990s "the greatest thing that ever happened to our sport" because of the way it attracted media attention and polarized fans.

"At the end of the day -- the reason we're here and can race cars and make a living out of it -- is because of the fans," Vickers explained. "If they aren't entertained, we lose our jobs. Sure, in the pure sense, it's about racing, competing and winning. But it's still the entertainment business."

luhm@sltrib.com