Brian Vickers: driver payback often 'paid with interest'

Brian Vickers @BrianLVickers | USATODAY

Driver Brian Vickers will share his insights and a behind-the-scene look at his life on and off the track with USA TODAY Sports readers throughout the 2013 season. For up-to-the-minute updates from the Nationwide Series driver, follow him on Twitter@BrianLVickers.

I hope everyone is getting ready for a nice holiday weekend with family and loved ones. This week was a great way to go into the off weekend. I had a chance to spend some quality time in Nashville supporting both Aarons, with their managers/vendors meeting and community outreach programs, as well as Dollar General, for their employee race day. It's impressive to see how passionate and knowledgeable the employees of both companies are about NASCAR.

The topic that came up the most during the week from media, fans, and at appearances was my thoughts on the "rubbing is racing" side of the sport, given the outcome of the Fontana race last weekend. So I thought it would be worth sharing with you what goes through the mind of a driver when you are wrecked at upwards of 200 mph.

Feuds between drivers and teams have been around since NASCAR 's induction back in the 1940s. A few years ago, NASCAR instituted the "boys have at it" policy, which essentially gave the drivers a way to self-police each other. Although the policy is clear in many ways, sometimes that line is blurred, and when it does emotions run high.

To put it bluntly, you're pissed, and probably not for the reason you may think. The anger you feel is not solely because of the danger. You're angry because your chances of putting the car in victory lane have vanished. All of the hard work and support of your team, sponsors, manufacturer, and effort you've put in so far that weekend is gone in a thousandth of a second.

I have always lived by what I feel is the golden rule on and off the track: race me the way you want me to race you. Often, these debts are paid with interest, especially when the emotions and stakes are high.

As a driver, you need to be willing to push everything around you to the limit, including your car, your crew, your body, and even the other drivers to win. If you're not willing to lose, to push your car to the point of wrecking, you'll never win. This can come with consequences, some planned, some unplanned.

This is true in life, no matter what you do. To be the best at anything you must be willing to lose at it. To push it to the edge, to fail, learn, and then pick yourself up to try again. You must desire to win so badly that you do not fear losing.