Team: Red Bull Racing
Record: One win, six poles, five top-5s, 14 top-10s, one Chase berth. All but one top-5/top-10 finish is Brian Vickers' doing.
Season summary: If the Red Bull season were a see-saw, Brian Vickers would be the one way up in the air, and Scott Speed would be the one sitting on the ground, and that's the way it would remain all year long.
Where it went right: For Vickers, this year marked an unquestioned breakthrough. Through the summer, no driver on the track was hotter, and he was rewarded with his first berth in the Chase. Vickers also got into the season's most famous war of words, a back-and-forth debate with Kyle Busch that was both hysterical and pretty petty ... and we're not talking Richard. For Speed ... well, he made it to the track on time for every race.
Where it went wrong: Vickers went all-in to make the Chase, and literally had nothing left once the Chase began. Speed, meanwhile, never seemed to get going at all, and consistently seemed overmatched and unable to break out of the middle of the pack.
Prospects for 2010: Vickers is in excellent shape to make another run; he's got talent and equipment combined. He's looking to be one of the 12 guys that will be battling for six Chase spots every year from here on out. Speed, meanwhile, is going to have to go a long way next year to convince the fans that he's anything but a field-filler. He's got skill, obviously -- you don't get this far without it -- but he's got to break through in a hurry.
Next up: Richard Petty Motorsports
Related Red Bull Racing posts from 2009:
Wreck of the week: Edwards introduces Vickers to the grass
Brian Vickers feels just a little bit sorry for Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers flare at each other after race
Brian Vickers pulls off the first-ever Times Square pit stop
Kyle Busch and Scott Speed, teammates? The horror! The horror!
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