Wednesday, November 2nd 'What If' Question

The paperclip track in Martinsville, Virginia is known for it's hard racing, great finishes and classic rivalries. Last weekend though, it became known as a junkyard that was run by Brian Vickers.

The official count had Vickers involved in five of the 18 cautions at Martinsville, but to viewers it seemed like a whole lot more. The No. 83 Red Bull machine always seemed to be where the action was, either starting it or being on the receiving end of it. It doesn't make it surprising then that Vickers played a role in determining the outcome of the Tums Fast Relief 500.

With less than 10 laps to go Vickers retaliated against Chase contender Matt Kenseth, bringing out the caution. Jimmie Johnson, a friend of Vickers, had been leading the race over Tony Stewart by over a second and was looking for his third win of the season and to close the gap in the championship. Instead, he would lineup side-by-side with Stewart and on the restart with two laps go, Stewart smoked him and went on to win.

Johnson finished second and only moved up one spot in points, gaining just seven points on the leader. Johnson was none too happy with his friend, saying that it was frustrating to see the same cars end up in all the cautions at the end. While it wasn't the only reason that he lost, Johnson did not want to see the final caution that Vickers caused.

Stewart on the other hand was the big winner, literally and figuratively. He moved to second in points after his third win of the Chase and sits just eight behind leader Carl Edwards with three races to go. In victory lane it caused Stewart to send a message to Edwards on national television, saying, "he better be worried, that's all I've got to say. He's not going to have an easy three weeks." The response got a rise out of everyone who heard it, except Edwards who said that Stewart was just wound up from the win and his biggest challengers are the ones behind Stewart.

A few days later, Vickers said four of the five accidents weren't his fault. He also said that he doesn't regret what he did to Matt Kenseth and that Kenseth was the one who took himself out of the championship. Kenseth, says Vickers, won't win the championship anyway. More importantly, Vickers believes that his performance of driving a beat up racecar will attract potential team owners as he searches for a ride in 2012.

But ...

What if Brian Vickers hadn't gone after Kenseth, causing last caution does A) Tony Stewart still win & B) still trash talk Edwards? #NASCAR

RT @cruetten Stewart would still have probably won--he was pretty fast at the end//Vickers will always talk trash, no matter what happens.

@14Patti14 He wouldn't have won but still would trash talk.

@HotDog388 Don't think Stewart wins without that last caution think Johnson was too far ahead, think Stewart still talks trash Edwards