Less than a year ago, Brian Vickers was unsure if he would ever race again. Taken out of the No. 83 Red Bull Racing Toyota in June because of blood clots, Vickers missed over half of the 2010 season having that condition treated and having a hole in his heart repaired. Coming off of a 2009 Chase berth, this blow killed momentum that already had sputtered with his slow 2010 start. Back on the track in 2011, Vickers and new teammate Kasey Kahne have each seen their ups and downs on the track, having seen results peppered with inconsistency and bad luck. With the health conditions seemingly behind him and Chase prospects, for now, looking dim, the most intriguing story surrounding Vickers and Red Bull Racing is whether they will remain together in 2012.

“I haven’t made any decisions yet. I like Red Bull. I’ve enjoyed my time there as a Red Bull brand. I think I fit the brand and the brand fits me. There’s no doubt about that. It is a high energy, be yourself, love life, extreme athlete, extreme sport kind of brand. And they allow me to do the things that I love to do and that is great,” said Vickers in a phone interview with News/Talk WSB today.

“Most importantly, we’ve got to win races and I think that is what we both want. And hopefully we can both figure that out together and I can finish my career out at Red Bull. If we can’t, then there’s other options on the table and maybe we’ll look at those. For right now, I’m committed to Red Bull and to this season and that’s where my focus is as of right now.”

A possible factor in Vickers’ decision may be who Red Bull Racing picks as his teammate next season.

“Obviously, Kasey [Kahne] is going to be gone next season and we’re going to have to fill that car. It’s definitely going to be an interesting year for Red Bull Racing.”

Indeed. Red Bull’s NASCAR GM Jay Frye and owner Dietrich Mateschitz have a large free agent class to choose from, but will need to improve the team’s performance if it both wants to retain Vickers, with the team essentially since its NASCAR inception and lure a driver from the rich free agency class of Carl Edwards, Juan Pablo Montoya, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, and others. If those drivers return to their teams (which is likely), RBR may be forced to promote their Camping World Truck Series rookie Cole Whitt. Who knows? The team has been known to promote drivers early before (see: A.J. Allmendinger and Scott Speed).

Vickers’ evidences his heightened passion for both NASCAR and life, along with what he would have done two weeks ago at Martinsville if he was Dale Earnhardt Jr. behind Kevin Harvick on the last lap in his full interview with News/Talk WSB. Listen and/or Download

Be sure and listen to the Allan Vigil Ford Lincoln Speedshop on Saturday from 12-12:30 p.m., as I host in place of Captain Herb Emory and get you prepared for Talladega, on AM-750 and NOW 95.5 FM News/Talk WSB. Feel free to comment on what you see and hear anytime on this blog.
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