BROOKLYN, Mich. — Closing in on the checkered flag with mostly fumes in his gas tank, there were only two possibilities for Brian Vickers.
Run out of gas and probably blow any chance at making NASCAR’s championship chase — or make a bold move toward title contention by winning the race.
After a surprising gamble on gas by his crew chief, Vickers drove conservatively to save fuel. Then he pounced when race leader Jimmie Johnson’s tank ran dry, taking the lead with two laps to go and holding on to win Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.
Vickers had confidence in crew chief Ryan Pemberton, but he also had a sick feeling in his stomach the last few laps.
“I’ve got to tell you, when you’re coming to two to go, I’m still sweating bullets, no matter how much confidence you’ve got,” Vickers said.
Vickers won his second career race, boosted his chances of making the chase and delivered the first checkered flag for Red Bull Racing.
It was the second time in two races at Michigan this season that Johnson’s crew gambled on gas and lost. Johnson also was in the lead when he ran out of fuel back in June, handing a win to Mark Martin.
“Certainly frustrated,” John-son said. “We’ve won one race on fuel mileage ever. It’s just what we’re not good at. I think it’s a little too risky for us to even try it.”
Jeff Gordon finished second, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards and Sam Hornish Jr. Series points leader Tony Stewart, who clinched his spot in the chase by starting Sunday’s race, finished 17th.
With three races left before the cutoff for NASCAR’s season-ending title chase, the win provided a significant boost to Vickers’ chances of qualifying. Vickers jumped one spot in the standings to 13th, and is only 12 points behind Martin for the 12th and final chase qualifying spot.
Johnson has never won at Michigan despite leading laps in each of his last six races there. That includes 133 laps Sunday and 146 laps in June, only to run out of gas both times.
Earnhardt was one driver who didn’t try to save gas, and it almost worked.
Earnhardt charged from sixth to third in the final 20 laps, but couldn’t quite catch the leaders. Still, it was his best finish since a second in Talladega in April.
“I don’t want to get too excited,” Earnhardt said. “You want to be up front every week like this.”
