Brian Vickers expected to discuss his recent Sprint Cup victory, a contract extension with Red Bull Racing and his chances at making the Chase for the championship when he arrived at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Instead, all of Vickers' positive news was interrupted by his week-old feud with Kyle Busch.
Vickers grew testy during a 25-minute question-and-answer session with reporters Friday, when he was forced to defend his passion for winning after once again criticizing Busch for being "so mad about something so small.
"I hate that he lives in such an angry place," Vickers said of his former teammate. "It must be miserable to live like that. That's just not the way I want to live my life."
The only problem with his assessment is that what Busch is "so mad" about -- the conclusion of last weekend's Nationwide Series race at Michigan International Raceway -- isn't at all "small."
To Busch, winning races is everything and the temperamental driver has an admittedly difficult time accepting defeat. So when Vickers became so preoccupied with Busch in the closing moments of last Saturday's race, he never saw Brad Keselowski charging toward them in a last-lap pass that gave Keselowski the surprise victory.
Busch was furious about the way Vickers raced the final lap, and the two exchanged heated words on pit road after the event. They then sat side-by-side in a comically awkward news conference in which they discussed their frustrations with one another as if the other wasn't in the same room.
Vickers went on to win the Sprint Cup Series race the next day in the first victory for Red Bull Racing, and it moved him just 12 points out of the final Chase qualifying spot with three races remaining to set the field. He also completed the paperwork on a drawn out contract extension on Tuesday.
But the issue with Busch, who spent two-plus years with Vickers at Hendrick Motorsports before both moved on to new teams, has overshadowed all of Vickers' achievements.
So he bristled Friday when asked to elaborate on "something so small" when most drivers view winning as the most important goal.
"The way he got out of the car and how angry he was, I just feel bad for him," Vickers said. "I'm mad that I didn't win the race, too. I don't know what you expect out of someone who wants to win the race. I love what I do and I'm very upset if I don't win, but if that's what it takes to win, then maybe I don't want to, because I don't want to live my life that miserable. I just don't. It's just not who I am.
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