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LOUDON, N.H. -- Stuck in a hospital bed, Brian Vickers wanted to live another day. Once he recovered, he hungered for a competitive ride. And once he landed a solid seat, well, Vickers simply had to win. Even when life tossed obstacles in Vickers path, his determined spirit never waned. After four years of health scares and unemployment put his promising career in doubt, Vickers kept pushing toward the finish line. He got there Sunday as the surprise winner at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. "Coming here and sitting in Victory Lane, just makes it one of the most special events in my life," Vickers said. He had plenty of drivers in the series pulling for this comeback. One by one, they saluted Vickers with a wave from the car or a back slap on the way to Victory Lane. Close friend Jimmie Johnson, a five-time Cup champion, pumped his fist out the window in pure happiness as if hed won a sixth title. Vickers did all he could to savour the unforgettable scene. "When you have so much love and support around you," Vickers said, "it makes all the difference in the world." Vickers even tried to celebrate with the fans, though the New Hampshire gates wouldnt open to the grandstands. Thats OK. He had a pretty big mob waiting for him -- even his fiancee, who had left the track to catch a ride home, only to reverse course and make it back just in time to greet him. About the only key cog missing was owner Michael Waltrip. Waltrip and co-owner Rob Kauffman were in Europe this weekend for the 20th annual Goodwood Festival of Speed in England. London, Loudon. Off by a letter. Vickers drives a part-time schedule for Michael Waltrip Racing and shares the No. 55 Toyota with Waltrip and Mark Martin. His win made him the No. 1 contender for a full-time ride at MWR in 2014. "Wins help a lot of business issues. So this was a great day for that," MWR general manager Ty Norris said. "Hes been our focus. We would love to have him in that car." Vickers snapped a 75-race winless streak and hadnt won since the August 2009 race at Michigan. He won his first career Cup race in August 2006 at Talladega Superspeedway. Vickers made the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in 2009, only to be sidelined most of the next season with blood clots. He had two procedures to close a hole in his heart and insert a stent into a vein in his left leg. After Red Bull Racing shut down after the 2011 season, Vickers hooked on with a limited ride with MWR. He has been driving full-time this season in the Nationwide Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. With his first checkered flag since his return, he is done looking back. "Thats why I came back," he said. "For whats to be, not whats happened." Kyle Busch was second and Jeff Burton third. Pole winner Brad Keselowski was fourth and Aric Almirola fifth. Jimmie Johnson brushed off his 43rd-place start to finish sixth. Tony Stewart was running inside the top 10 at the final caution until he ran out of fuel and plummeted to 26th. "Its hard to calculate how much we are saving on the cautions," Stewart said. "We thought we were about three-quarters of a lap to the good before that last caution. Obviously, we didnt save as much as I thought we would." Busch and Vickers finished 1-2 in Saturdays Nationwide Series race. Both drivers had to stretch their fuel, and Vickers ran out just as he crossed the finish line. He was in a similar spot again down the stretch a race later. He had just enough to zip past Stewart with 13 laps left and then pull away in the green-white-checkered finish. He didnt run out until it was time for the celebratory burnout. Stewart wasnt so lucky a week after he finished second at Daytona. Johnson, who won at Daytona, was mired in last place for the first time in his career after his No. 48 Chevrolet flunked post-qualifying inspection. No big deal. The points leader made quick work through the back of the field and worked his way up to the front for most of the race. He easily breezed past 71-year-old Morgan Shepherd, the oldest driver to start a race in NASCARs Sprint Cup series. Kurt Busch led a race-high 102 laps before he connected with Ryan Newman to end his shot at his first victory of the season. Off the restart, Danica Patrick was involved in a three-car wreck that included boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr. "Were all bunched up on those restarts," Patrick said. "Im not sure if I misjudged the breaking zone or they stopped really quick in front of me." Vickers survived it all to win for the third time in 271 Sprint Cup races. He thanked the MWR team for "believing in me and giving me a second chance." But he wants more. He received the clean bill of health, the ride and the victory. With a full 36-race schedule, Vickers said there is one more check he needs to put in his box. 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"Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. OKLAHOMA CITY -- After starting the season with a 6-1 record, the Oklahoma City Thunder were being looked at as the surprise team in the NBA. A week later, the Thunder are in a tailspin, riding a four-game losing streak.That is the situation that awaits the Thunder (6-5) when they play host to the Houston Rockets (6-4) on Wednesday night at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.The latest loss came Monday night when Thunder traveled to Detroit on the second night of a back-to-back. Near the end of the first quarter and the start of the second, Oklahoma City allowed the Pistons to go on a 23-6 run. It was an uphill battle from that point on, and Detroit emerged with a 104-88 victory.Defensively we started with really good energy, Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. In fairness to our guys, you can always expect on a back-to-back that youre going to be a bit leg weary. Generally thats going to affect your offense. Sometimes on back-to-backs you cant put stock or onus on having a great offensive output, but you have to hang your hat on your defense.Oklahoma Citys defense is getting precipitately worse, but it hasnt just been against teams such as the Golden State Warriors or Los Angeles Clippers.The Thunders last two defeats came at the hands of the Orlando Magic and Detroit, clubs that rank in the bottom seven in the NBA in scoring. Each team managed to score over a 100 against the Thunder.Were one of the top teams in the league when we play defensively, Thunder guard Russell Westbrook told The Oklahoman. So Im not really worried about whos playing and whos not.Having issues with defense, however, is not a good problem to have with the Rockets in town. Houston is 10th in the league in scoring at 107.8 points per game and fifth in 3-point shooting at 37 percent.Houston has noot had a problem putting up points this season.dddddddddddd The Rockets are coming off a 115-88 plastering of the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.I thought they came out with the right intensity, they came out the way they should have, Rockets coach Mike DAntoni said. We talked about it and came out in the second half the way we should have. That way we got some good rest. I saw a lot of good things.The Rockets might get even stronger Wednesday with the possible return of guard Patrick Beverley, who has been out since the preseason after undergoing left knee surgery.Beverley and the Thunder have a history that goes back to when he crashed into Westbrooks knee during the 2013 postseason. Westbrook ended up with a torn meniscus that cost him the rest of the postseason. Thunder fans catapulted Beverley to the top of their most hated list, which he has held onto since then.Against the 76ers, Rockets guard James Harden posted 33 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. He is now one of only three players in history to average at least 30 points and 10 assists through 10 games. Harden was also named Western Conference Player of the Week.However, Harden seems to be more focused on making sure his team plays the right way.Were getting better game by game, and defensively were getting better and offensively has been better, too, Harden told ESPN.com. We take it one game at a time. These next three games will be extremely tough; well be all right as long as we continue to do the things weve been working on.Asked his assessment of the Thunder in the wake of Kevin Durant exit in free agency, Harden said, Its Russ. Its Russ, and its a one-man show. ' ' '