Brian Vickers cleared to return for third race of season
Brian Vickers’ absence from the Sprint Cup Series in 2015 doesn’t look like it’ll be too lengthy.
Michael Waltrip Racing announced Wednesday that Vickers has been cleared to return at Las Vegas for the race on March 8. It’s the third race of the season, meaning Vickers will miss the Daytona 500 and the second race of the season at Atlanta.
Waltrip will fill in for Vickers at the 500 and a replacement for the second race of the season is yet to be announced.
The doctors gave me a clean bill of health and said I will be better than before,” Vickers said in a statement. “The advancements in modern medicine and surgical procedures are amazing and I have to thank my doctors at the Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute and Carolinas Medical Center for their extraordinary care. I have literally put my life in their hands twice and I cannot begin to express my level of gratitude.”
The team announced Vickers would miss the beginning of the season after a complication from a 2010 heart procedure. A patch inserted into his heart in was being rejected by his body. He had surgery in December to fix the issue.
The hole in Vickers’ heart was discovered in 2010 when he was sidelined for 25 races by blood clots. He was also forced to sit out in 2013 when more clot issues arose.
NASCAR said Vickers will receive a medical exemption to be eligible for the Chase if he qualifies with a win in 2015 or via points. Denny Hamlin was given an exemption after missing last year’s race at Auto Club Speedway with an eye issue and Tony Stewart was given an exemption when he missed races in August after he struck and killed Kevin Ward at a dirt track.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
