Las Vegas Notebook

Las Vegas Notebook

•         Brian Vickers returns to racing

•         Delaware declines to charge Kurt Busch

•         Honoring NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Wendell Scott

It’s déjà vu all over again for Brian Vickers

Mar. 6, 2015

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - It was a different place but a familiar scene for Michael Waltrip Racing driver Brian Vickers.

“I feel like we've had this press conference before,” Vickers quipped on Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he’ll return to racing in Sunday’s Kobalt 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at the 1.5-mile track.

Three times in the past five years, Vickers has been sidelined by serious medical issues. In May 2010 he was diagnosed with blood clots in his legs and lungs and missed the balance of that season. In 2013, the recurrence of blood clot in his right calf kept Vickers out of action from mid-October through the end of the season.

And December heart surgery to replace an artificial patch designed to repair a hole between the two upper chambers of his heart.

After missing the first two races of the season, Vickers is ready for his third comeback.

“There are certainly times where I wasn't sure if I was ever going to be back and then you kind of deal with those emotions and then all the sudden you're back and then you have to deal with those emotions, Vickers said on Friday. “I couldn't be more thrilled about it. I think to a large extent a month ago, I was as curious as probably some of you were as to how I would feel (this) morning.

“I can tell you I couldn't be happier. I was talking to someone on the way in and they asked what my emotions were going into this and I kind of look at it like a win-win. If we go out there and do well, that's great. And even if we don't, just being able to get back in a race car again and go 200 (mph) is incredible.”

Vickers, however, isn’t about to temper his excitement with conservative expectations.

“No matter what the outcome, I'm happy to be here and happy to be back in a car again and get a chance to do something I love, but I'm an optimist,” Vickers said. “I think we're going to go out there and do well.”

DELAWARE DECLINES TO CHARGE KURT BUSCH

Citing the lack of admissible evidence and the improbability of obtaining a conviction, Delaware Department of Justice announced on Thursday it has declined to proceed with domestic abuse charges against driver Kurt Busch.

Busch, however, remains suspended indefinitely from all NASCAR activities until he completes a reinstatement program delineated by the sanctioning body.

Busch was suspended Feb. 20 after a commissioner in the State of Delaware Family Court determined Busch more likely than not had committed an act of domestic violence against former girlfriend Patricia Driscoll on Sept. 26 at Dover International Speedway.

“NASCAR is aware of the Delaware Department of Justice announcement (Thursday) regarding driver Kurt Busch,” NASCAR said in a statement released on Thursday afternoon. “As we disclosed Monday, he has accepted the terms and conditions of a reinstatement program and is actively participating in the program.

“Kurt Busch’s eligibility for reinstatement will continue to be governed by that program and the NASCAR Rule Book, though the elimination of the possibility of criminal charges certainly removes a significant impediment to his reinstatement.”

HONORING WENDELL SCOTT

The recognition of newly inducted NASCAR Hall of Fame member Wendell Scott continues this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where all teams in Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series will be given decals commemorating Scott’s first start in NASCAR’s top series.

On Mar. 4, 1961 at Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds in Spartanburg, S.C., Scott made his first start in what was then the NASCAR Grand National Series. He finished 17th, retiring because of an oil pressure problem after 52 of 200 laps.

Honoring Scott with decals commemorating his first start during race weekends in early March is a tradition that has continued since its inception in 2010. The first African-American driver to win a race in NASCAR’s top series (Dec. 1, 1963 at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Fla.), Scott was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in January.