Although the Michigan track is located less than 100 from Detroit, essentially putting it in the backyard of the U.S. auto industry, Vickers didn't seem to think that made it a particularly significant achievement for a Japanese team.
But in downplaying the significance of outqualifying domestic automakers' teams in their home state, Vickers might have delivered an inadvertent dig.
"I don't know if this is the Big Three's home or not," Vickers said. "I guess a couple of them are based out of Washington, D.C., now. And I don't know where the rest are based. So I never really thought about it that way."
Vickers clearly was referring to the U.S. government's financial assistance to troubled domestic automakers, but insisted he wasn't trying to be flippant.
"I'm not trying to be funny," Vickers said. "I don't know where they're headquartered. The government owns them, so I don't know what they'd call their headquarters. Except for Ford. I don't want to make a false statement."
The government owns 60 percent of General Motors, whose Chevrolet divison supplies engines to NASCAR teams. GM recently emerged from bankruptcy and has received government loans. The Canadian government also received a stake in GM, whose headquarters remain in downtown Detroit.
The United States also has an 8 percent interest in Auburn Hills-based Chrysler, maker of Dodge.
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MARTIN'S COMEBACK: Winning the June NASCAR race at Michigan was not a rare feat for Mark Martin. How he did it was.
Martin climbed from the 32nd position to set a track record for the greatest improvement from a starting position for a race winner. In 80 NASCAR races at MIS, only 10 winners have come from drivers starting outside the top 15.
Martin, who has five career victories at Michigan, downplayed the significance of the feat.
"It's nice to start in the front," Martin said. "But you don't have to. You just do the best you can with what you have to work with. Last time here we qualified 32nd. We didn't want to, but we did. It was what we had to work with.
"I don't like to lose qualifying. I felt like I lost. Being 32nd with a car capable of doing what our car is capable of doing, I was embarrassed."
The 50-year-old Martin said not worrying about his starting position at the time made a difference. Now he is trying to not think too much about his fight to be in the top 12 for NASCAR's championship chase.
"I'm just not getting caught up into it," said Martin who is 11th in the points standings. "It would be nice to be locked in, but it's also nice to be contending to get in.
"It would be a lot worse if you were in the back and didn't have a shot at it. With our race team and the performance we've had on the race track, all we've got to do is go out and race. If things go against us, we can't help that. The performance of the race team certainly makes me comfortable."
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