Brian Vickers had some clear goals established at the beginning of 2009 as he entered his sophomore year with Red Bull Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
And the young driver accomplished all of them.
"We set our goals out at the beginning of the season to sit on poles, win races and be in the Chase," Vickers said. "Racing for a championship itself within the Chase was not necessarily a goal we had but obviously when you show up at the race track you want to win races and championships."
Vickers won the first ever race for Red Bull Racing when he captured the checkered flag from the pole position in the summer Michigan race. He sat on the pole six times this season, earning more poles than all of his previous seasons combined.
The victory was his only of the season, but combined with 13 top 10s in the first 26 races, including a stint of nine finishes of 12 or better heading into the playoffs, Vickers was able to make his first appearance in the Chase.
That success leading up the Chase didn't follow him into the post-season, though, and Vickers and Red Bull Racing had the worst finishes of any Chase team, putting them in the 12th spot in the standings. He never finished in the top 10 during the Chase and had an average finish of 23.7 over the 10 races.
Following the season, Vickers was hard pressed to find the answers why the team struggled.
"We were one of the best teams on the race track the 10 races leading up to the Chase and we've had just about everything possibly go wrong that could go wrong in the Chase," he said. "We lost a solenoid. I've never heard of that actually. I talked to the engine builder and he said he's seen it happen once in 20 years. We ripped a shock mount out of a chassis at California. When was the last time you heard of that happening? I don't know how to explain it -- I don't."
Vickers is optimistic that the team will only grow from this point and after taking some time to rest, he will be back in the shop working on next season's offerings.
"I look back on (our season) and it was a good year for us. We learned a lot from it, we grew a lot as a team, we accomplished all of our goals and we've still learned a lot in the Chase," Vickers said. "A lot of it has been what not to do but we still learned a lot from that. They always say in sports that you've got to learn how to lose a championship before you can learn how to win one. That's kind of my take on this year."
