Brian Vickers’ name resurfaced in NASCAR headlines after it appeared in the Epstein files. He was previously married to Sarah Kellen, Jeffrey Epstein’s former secretary, and both names were referenced multiple times in documents released by the Department of Justice last week. Regardless, Vickers’ reputation within the sport has long been a mixed one, even before these developments.
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In 2011, Jeff Gordon, once his close friend, was less than happy about how he was portrayed in a Maxim interview. Vickers was described as a wild party animal who was highly appealing and something of a womanizer. It also called him the greatest driver to never win a Cup Series championship. That’s something completely out of line.
That said, there were other reasons why some drivers, including Gordon, weren’t happy with the story. In a part of the article, Vickers narrated a rather disturbing story about Gordon.
The former NASCAR driver told the writer that he was calling Gordon up to join him for the interview. When he refused, Vickers hurled abuse at him. As quoted in the article, “‘Fu***** Gordon,’ Vickers says. ‘He used to be a lot of fun.'”
Gordon was unhappy both with the fact that Vickers contacted him and with what he had to say about him.
The now-54-year-old later said ahead of a 2011 Daytona Race, “I’ve had great times over the years, but I’m a family guy, and I try to represent my sponsors in a way they’d like to be represented. It’s different for him. He’s young. He’s single. He’s got Red Bull as a sponsor. The next time he’s out with a writer from Maxim magazine, and he’s having a good time, he can forget my phone number about calling me to join them.”
Not everyone, however, responded to the article so harshly. Jimmie Johnson, another close friend of Vickers’, admitted that he saw things differently. “Brian has always had an interesting point of view on things. He has never lacked confidence, either. I felt like that came through in the article,” he said.
Johnson added that Vickers seemed to have explored many pursuits away from the track, sitting out of the car for a large part of the 2010 season and enjoying himself during that period.
Vickers has come a long way since then and now keeps a low profile, staying largely out of the spotlight. However, it remains to be seen what the long-term consequences of his past may be.
