Trouble in the Tunnel Turn

There Brian Vickers was, minding his own business, keeping his nose clean and just trying to make it to the end. After all, the more laps completed in Sunday’s Pennsylvania 500 the more points earned for Red Bull Racing.

Then, with 19 laps go, a plume of smoke rose above the infamous tunnel turn, and, as it turned out, BV’s No. 83 was a large part of the plume. It wasn’t his doing, however. It’s safe to say Brian has Pocono Raceway pretty much figured out.

Up ahead of Brian, who at the time was running 29th, Reed Sorenson spun sideways. That meant David Gilliland had to slow down. That meant Brian had to slow down, too. But each driver involved was part of one big accordion lesson. Brian almost had the mess cleared. Evasive maneuvers took him to the high side of the track, but Sorenson’s lifeless Dodge drifted high, too, and he and Brian had a close encounter along the outside wall.

Brian limped away, and the Red Bull Racing crew kept the No. 83 going until the end. Brian ended up 29th. The dedication helped the No. 83 move up a spot in the owner standings to 39th, but 286 points must be gobbled up to reach the top 35.