NASCAR Cup Series

Brian Vickers: 'I wasn't sure if I'd ever be here again'

Published Mar. 9, 2015 3:30 p.m. ET

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The past few weeks were not easy for 31-year-old Brian Vickers.

Recovering from offseason surgery to repair a hole in his heart, Vickers was forced to sit out the opening two races of the 2015 season. Team co-owner Michael Waltrip drove his No. 55 Toyota to a 26th-place finish in the Daytona 500, while substitute Brett Moffitt finished eight at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

This weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Vickers made his much-anticipated return to the Sprint Cup Series for Sunday's Kobalt 400.

Starting in the 28th spot, the Thomasville, North Carolina, native was able to move his way through the field during the 267-lap event to score a 15th-place finish, one lap down to race winner Kevin Harvick.

The top-15 finish was like a victory for both Vickers and his No. 55 team.

"It was good. A top-15 considering where we were at three months ago -- I'll take it," said Vickers. "Real proud of the guys. They made the car better all day. The stops were great. You always want to do better. You always want to win, but I think for us this was a victory in a lot of ways and I'm just really proud of everyone on this Aaron's Dream Machine crew."

Prior to Sunday's race, Vickers said doctors were unsure if he would ever return to racing, and he did not push them to clear him medically.

Once officially cleared, he said it was difficult to watch the car with his name above the door race while he was on the sidelines.  

That all changed on Sunday in Las Vegas.

"It's incredible. It feels so good to be back in a race car," he said after Sunday's race. "So happy, so thankful and I wasn't sure if I'd ever be here again."

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