"It's definitely still agonizing," Vickers said Friday before successfully qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "Until you're locked in, it really doesn't matter where you are in the points. Fridays are still really tough for us."
Although he qualified 23rd for Sunday's race, it's not going to get any easier for Vickers for at least another two weeks.
A complicated qualifying system awards a spot in the field for the first five races of the season to cars ranked in the top 35 in points last year. Vickers didn't make that cut
- he was 38th last season - and must qualify his way into the first five races.
Despite this strong start to his second season with Red Bull Racing, it can all crumble for Vickers with one poor qualifying run. It weighs on his mind when he arrives at the race track each week, but Vickers said he tries not to let it affect his performance.
"You have to try to stay focused. You can't get distracted by that, as hard as it is to not be distracted by it," he said.
It's a long way from where Vickers was at the start of his NASCAR career, when he had a cushy job with Hendrick Motorsports. He had few worries during three Cup seasons, when he made every race while notching one win and 23 top 10 finishes.
But he was overshadowed by his superstar teammates at Hendrick, which played a part in his risky decision to leave the team at the end of the 2006 season. With upstart Red Bull looking for a marquee driver to build its program around, Vickers jumped at the opportunity to be the star.
He never imagined how difficult it would be.
Vickers and teammate A.J. Allmendinger were just two of about 10 drivers who had to fight their way into every race last season. The year got off to a horrible start when both Red Bull drivers missed the Daytona 500, and Vickers failed to qualify for five of the first nine.
It mired him in a hole he never could climb out of, even after strong runs at California and Charlotte proved his Toyota could run up front. He made just 23 of the 36 events last year, and sitting at home on race day was brutal on the 24-year-old.
"It definitely eats away at you," he said. "When you're behind the wheel and you miss a race, you have to question whether you did everything that you could."
With two strong runs so far this season, Vickers has had little to question.
He raced his way into the season-opening Daytona 500, overcoming an early spin that could have knocked him out of contention. A tire issue during the race could have led to a disastrous finish, but the team rallied for Vickers' 12th place finish.
Qualifying was rained out last week in California, but Vickers made the race based on his spot in the standings leaving Daytona. He then finished 11th in the event.
