Brian Vickers has faded into the background at Hendrick Motorsports, putting a strain on his relationship with crew chief Lance McGrew. Credit: Autostock

25 crew chief unable to enjoy moment of victory

Lance McGrew just stood there, dazed in disbelief in the searing Alabama sun. He'd waited his entire life for this moment, worked nearly 15 years in the business to join the elite fraternity of victorious Cup Series crew chiefs.

It was surreal, and for all the wrong reasons.

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Indeed it was that coveted first victory, but given the circumstances of its evolution it was gut-wrenchingly anticlimactic. It had come at the expense of a dear friend and teammate.

Hence there was no celebratory leap from the pit wall into his team's joyous embrace. There was neither mosh pit nor victory sprint through the infield grass. There was no interview atop the pit box command center.

Heck, there was no interview at all until after Victory Lane responsibilities were complete two hours later.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

Granted, everyone at Hendrick Motorsports is happy for McGrew, but ...

See, that's just it -- the "but."

"I think that 'but' will always be there -- I think it definitely is and will be forever," McGrew said Wednesday. "And I hate to have an asterisk attached to anything that's not a positive. It's tough. It's very tough.

"This is such a family here at Hendrick. All the other crew chiefs, we're tight. We're very tight. And I believe everybody's genuinely happy that the 25 team won and that I got my first win as crew chief. But it's still very difficult. Even with words from Jimmie [Johnson] himself, him telling me to enjoy the win."

Johnson, whom Brian Vickers wrecked entering the third turn on the final lap to win the UAW-Ford 500 last Sunday, placed a congratulatory call to McGrew on Monday to tell him to enjoy the victory, to be proud of it regardless the circumstances, that it was long overdue and well-deserved.

It's not that simple.

"It's still tough to enjoy," he said.

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And he doesn't lie. The closeness with Vickers has waned, too. They won a Busch Series championship together, but since Vickers made the decision to leave HMS at season's end for Red Bull Toyota, and the dynamics that ensued, it's put a slight strain on the relationship.

"It's definitely different. You can't expect it not to be different in some regards," McGrew said. "It's more distant than it ever was before. But that's just how it's going to be. Anytime someone makes the choice to leave a company there's going to be repercussions to that."

Among the repercussions is Vickers' exclusion from team meetings. He's a smart kid, and HMS has no desire to pass on information he could transfer to Red Bull. It hasn't affected the performance of the No. 25, but has certainly infused a schism on the HMS campus.

"As we go on and we try to develop newer things and faster racecars, which does nothing but benefit the 25 team, obviously some of the things, as proprietary as this business is, you'd like to keep close to the fold," McGrew said. "That's how a lot of the things with the team meetings and stuff came into play.

"I don't believe our team has suffered, because of the engineering standpoint and on the crew chief side, and the fact that I do get to talk to the other drivers. I believe we're still on the same page with everybody, as much as we've always been.

"But definitely the added input from Brian in those meetings has helped in the past, and complex-wide, as a whole, we've missed out on some of that by not having Brian there. But it's a necessary evil."

McGrew can't be certain how Sunday's run-in might affect Vickers in the future, other than Johnson getting more racing room. But he thinks Vickers will, indeed, be affected behind the wheel for the remainder of 2006.

"That's a tough one. I would think from [Thursday] on, especially through the end of this season, I'd think it probably would affect how he drives a racecar," McGrew said. "I don't see how it couldn't.

"The last thing he wants to do is put himself in that situation again. Not that I think he did anything wrong. It's just the circumstance."

McGrew is certain Vickers is remorseful, and unlike Johnson doesn't think Vickers was overzealous in his victory celebration.

"I don't think Brian went overboard in his celebration by any means," he said. "I feel bad for him, as well. He's leaving. He's a short-term driver on the 25 team, but he's got to carry that [wreck] for a long, long time. And he'll have an asterisk beside it, as well.

"We haven't talked a lot about it. He came by the shop yesterday and poked around and I would think somebody that won their first Cup race two days ago would be hopping and skipping a little bit. He's very subdued. So I'd say it's eating him pretty good. It's eating all of us.

"Plus two billion Junior fans hate him, which in itself is a pretty big deal."

Considering the post-Talladega disdain shown Vickers by some fans, Lowe's Motor Speedway will provide him with additional security during the Bank of America 500 weekend. McGrew is a bit miffed.

"I think it's a publicity stunt by Lowe's Motor Speedway, myself," McGrew said. "I think it's unfair. Why would you release that as a press statement? They could've offered, they could've called Hendrick Motorsports and said, 'Hey, we're going to offer Brian more security.' But to actually release that in a press statement? Come on, man."

On they trudge to LMS -- added security detail and all -- with Talladega in the rearview. For now.

If Johnson ultimately finishes just a handful of points short of a championship, Sunday's outcome will forever live in infamy.

"That's one race, but that was the culmination of 30 races prior to that, that put [Johnson] in the position he's in now," McGrew said. "If he unfortunately comes up a few points short of this championship, that race is going to be relived over and over and over, and reviewed and talked about forever.

"It's unfair, but welcome to the sport. Story of my life!"

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.