With Brian Vickers back on blood thinners, Michael Waltrip Racing has decided to replace Vickers with David Ragan in the the No. 55 Toyota for the remainder of the Sprint Cup Series schedule beginning May 8-9 at Kansas Speedway.
Vickers, who has missed the last five races, will stay on blood thinners until late June at the earliest. Vickers has missed parts of four seasons since 2010 to treat blood clots. He can't race while on blood thinners because of the risk of bleeding out if he’s involved in an accident.
MORE: McMurray inspired | Elliott's Cup progress | PHOTOS: 2015 Cup winners
"There is absolutely no question about Brian Vickers' ability, but there remains a question of his availability," Michael Waltrip, team co-owner, said in a release. "We are going to remain very close with Brian while he works on his plan to return. We have told him that MWR is here when he has a clear picture about what the future holds, but we don't need to add any timeline pressures. He is working with a lot of medical advisors and once he has established his plan, we will sit down and discuss next steps."
Ragan, 29, has two career wins on the Sprint Cup circuit in 299 starts. He raced the Daytona 500 for Front Row Motorsports before moving to Joe Gibbs Racing to replace the injured Kyle Busch. He is currently 19th in the driver standings.
Ragan will drive for JGR this weekend at Talladega before moving to the MWR garage. Waltrip will drive the No. 55 car.
“It’s going to be awesome knowing when I climb in the No. 55 at Kansas that car will be mine the rest of the season,” Ragan said. “I look forward to working with (teammate) Clint Bowyer, the crew and shop employees at MWR. It’s tough what’s happened to them this year but I hope I can come in and make 2015 something special.”
JGR hasn't announced a decision on who it plans to put in the No. 18 car, but 18-year-old Erik Jones is rumored to be in line for the ride.