After Brian Vickers filled in for the injured Tony Stewart in the season-opening Daytona 500, Stewart-Haas Racing confirmed the substitutes for the next two events in the team’s No. 14.
Ty Dillon will climb behind the wheel of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet this Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Vickers will return to the seat the following week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Beyond the next two races, the team said the driver lineup is yet to be decided.
Through Dillon’s association with Bass Pro Shops as they sponsor his XFINITY Series ride for Richard Childress Racing, he is the most likely candidate to fill in when its brand is on the car. In addition, the 23-year-old has run very well in Atlanta over the years.
He captured the pole and his first career NASCAR victory at the track in his first start at the speedway during the 2012 Camping World Truck Series campaign. The win came following an impressive performance as he led 40 laps.
When the Lewisville, N.C., native returned in 2014, he pulled double duty by competing in the XFINITY Series race and making his Sprint Cup Series debut. He finished ninth in the Great Clips 300 and brought home a 25th-place finish in his first Sprint Cup Series race driving for RCR.
Last February, he raced in the XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series races in Atlanta. He came home second in the Truck Series event and followed up the performance with a third-place finish in the XFINITY Series race.
Sunday will mark his ninth career Sprint Cup Series start and second consecutive after finishing 25th in a Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing entry in the Daytona 500.
After finishing one spot behind Dillon last week in Daytona, Vickers will return to the No. 14 car in Las Vegas. He last competed at the speedway one year ago when he finished in 15th place for Michael Waltrip Racing.
He has two career top 10s at the speedway in 2009 and 2011. Las Vegas was one of the two tracks at which Vickers raced last season before taking another medical leave and missing the remainder of the 2015 season.
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Geez, I am disappointed. Hoped Tony might give a fellow triple crown winner a shot.
I wonder how much Childress is paying to get Dillon in a Hendrick car?