Brian Vickers, NASCAR driver of the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 55 car, is sidelined again for blood clots in the lungs and legs. Currently he is scheduled to miss the next three months of the season. This marks the fourth time since 2010 that Vickers will miss part of a season for the same health reason.
“Through those three months [I’ll be out], I’ll just try to figure out what makes sense with my doctors to see if I can come back off of them and go racing, if there is some kind of plan that works,” Vickers said. “If not, then that’s that.’
Vickers began his Sprint Cup career part time in 2003 running five races in Hendrick Motorsports No. 25 while driving full-time in the Hendrick No. 5 in the then Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) where he won the championship. From then until now he has had an up and down career driving with different owners until finally finding a home at MWR in 2012 on a full-time basis in 2014.
Driving to victory lane three times in 318 races is not a sign of his skill as a driver. Inability to find a stable ride for 10 years contributed more to his inconsistency. Given the proper opportunity and consistency in both equipment and health, Vickers would be competitive with the best on the track.
Vickers’ health issues began in May 2010. NASCAR announced on May 13 that Vickers would miss the Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway after 10 top 10 finishes in his first 11 starts. NASCAR would later announce that his season was over due to blood clots in his lungs and legs.
He returned in 2011 driving for Red Bull Racing. He ran the whole season, finishing in 25th place. Red Bull announced they would be dropping their NASCAR team at the end of 2011. Vickers again was rideless. In 2012, he picked up a part-time Sprint Cup ride with MWR and a full-time Nationwide Series ride with Joe Gibbs Racing.
Things were looking up for Vickers, as he had consistent rides and his health appeared to be stable. That is, until October 14, 2013. On that date, MWR announced that Vickers would miss the last four races of the season due to blood clots in his right calf. On a positive note, MWR announced they signed Vickers for a full-time ride in the No. 55 for 2014.
Vickers ran a full 36-race season in 2014 finishing with three top 10s and 1 pole. Coming into 2015 Vickers once again would face a serious health problem. As part of his treatment for the blood clots in 2010, doctors placed a patch over a hole in his heart. His body began rejecting the patch and he would need to have it replaced.
“My previous experiences have given me a very keen understanding of my body,” Vickers said in a statement. “Late last week I knew something wasn’t right, so I went to the hospital to be checked out. Following several tests, it was discovered that my body was rejecting an artificial patch that was inserted in 2010 to fix a hole in my heart. Saturday, I had to have corrective surgery to repair the hole and now I am beginning the recovery process.”
He missed the first two races of the 2015 season, returning at Las Vegas and finishing 14th. The following week he raced at Phoenix not knowing it would be his last race of the season. “Thankfully, because I recognized the signs and symptoms, the doctors caught this early and I’m going to be ok. I had finished my treatment for the clot I had in my leg back in 2013 and I haven’t needed to be on a blood thinner for a clot in my leg or lung since,” said Vickers. “Now I won’t be able to race because I’ll need to be back on a blood thinner. I’m going to follow doctor’s orders and do everything I need to do to get well.”
Michael Waltrip announced that developmental driver Brett Moffitt will fill in for Vickers for the near future.
Brian Vickers may be facing his toughest finish now, whether his driving career is over or not. At 31 years old, he still has plenty of good racing years left him and we hope he is able to return to the track.