Brian Vickers is ready to race, at least in the Daytona 500

Meet Brian Vickers, the happiest man in the Daytona 500.

“I can assure you that when the green drops next Sunday, I am going to enjoy it much more than anyone else on the race track,” Vickers said Friday morning, his first official day as a member of Stewart-Haas Racing.

Vickers’ moment is preceded by Tony Stewart’s misery. Stewart – who has said 2016 will be his final season of Sprint Cup racing -- suffered a burst fracture of the L1 vertebra in an all-terrain-vehicle accident while in Phoenix recently. Stewart is out indefinitely, starting with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 21.

For now, Vickers is the guy, but the game plan is fluid. There are no definitive plans beyond Daytona, although there are strong rumblings that Ty Dillon could also grab some slots on the seat of Stewart’s No. 14 Chevy. Vickers will also be eligible to replace Stewart in Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited non-points race.

The fine print in the short-term contract reveals that Vickers has his own health issues. Vickers raced only twice in 2015, a circumstance driven by a recurrence of blood clots. Vickers stepped out of his No. 55 Toyota ride with Michael Waltrip Racing in March because of his problems.

Vickers could not race as long as he was on blood thinners because of the danger of bleeding out if he is involved in an accident. His comeback ride obviously comes with a health clearance.

“I’ve worked with my doctors over the last year to find the right plan that works for me to be able to race safely and keep me protected from clots,” Vickers said.

He was getting on with his life, not actively searching for a competitive Cup ride, and waiting for the right opportunity.

And then it came.

“it’s unfortunate that this is the car I’m in because it means that’s Tony is not here,” Vickers said. “And I have a tremendous amount of respect for Tony. I can understand what he’s going through, unfortunately. ... I’m honored to keep his seat warm until he gets back.”

Vickers, 32, gives Stewart-Haas a considerable amount of racing savvy as its backup plan. He has 318 career Cup starts, with three victories and 29 Top 5s.

“I think it’s a perfect fit,” said Larry McReynolds, Fox Sports NASCAR analyst. “I never thought about him. I sat there and listed all the possibilities from David Gilliland to a lot of Xfinity Series drivers to Regan Smith, who is always a go-to guy.

“They needed someone who was not going to be auditioning. If the car runs 10th, Brian is going to run 10th. If the car is running fifth, Brian will run fifth. If the car can win the race, Brian will go up there and contend. Brian fills the bill of health perfectly.”

“Health” remains the operative word for everybody. Stewart posted a Treadmill Time video on Periscope Friday, showing him rehabbing in Charlotte.

“We are doing much better,” Stewart said on the video. “We are starting to get the pain under control and just didn’t want everybody to think while everybody was at Daytona today I was sitting on my [behind].”

Stewart remains day-to-day — best guesstimate is three months — although he wants back in as quickly as possible, pending clearance. Until then, Vickers seems to be a good fit in that firesuit.

He says he feels good and is about to get more prominent screen time beyond the commercial that airs featuring Vickers, Chris Bosh, Kevin Nealon and Arnold Palmer playing golf and pitching the virtues of Xarelto, medication that has been shown to treat blood clots, atrial fibrillation, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolisms.

“There are a lot of good racers out there but we came here to win,” Stewart-Haas Racing competition director Greg Zipadelli said at a media session. “We feel the guy on my right can get it done for us.”

gdiaz@tribune.com