CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Brian Vickers stepped onto the back of his No. 25 hauler at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Thursday and faced a crowd of reporters larger than he's seen since early in the season.

Maybe larger than any he's seen since arriving in the Nextel Cup Series four years ago.

"I'm surprised you guys made it through all the security checks," Vickers said with a laugh. "Is everything OK?"

He was taking a stab at LMS owner Bruton Smith, who in a release issued early in the week offered Vickers extra security in the aftermath of last week's race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Vickers won his first Cup race after unintentionally wrecking Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson and leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the last lap while attempting to push Johnson into the lead.

Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus issued harsh words in the media toward their teammate, who is leaving after this season to drive a Toyota for newly formed Team Red Bull.

Johnson hasn't returned messages left by Vickers, who called to apologize.

Fans at the track reacted angrily, throwing beer cans and other trash onto the track while Vickers celebrated in Victory Lane. Many reacted strongly on Internet message boards as well, but not to the point Vickers felt added security for this weekend's race was necessary.

Especially not the way it was presented, which was more as a publicity stunt than a sincere offer.

"I feel if it was a genuine concern the offer would have been extended to me personally," Vickers said. "I don't feel like there's a need for it. I have a lot more respect for our NASCAR fans as a whole than to think they would resort to violence.

"It's unfortunate that somebody has added fuel to a fire that didn't need adding to."

Make no mistake, there has been a fire. The phone lines at HMS have been lit up this week from fans, angry and supportive. Message boards also have been active, although Vickers has been protected from most of the negative reaction by members of his PR staff.

Some he missed, for example:

•"Vickers is a no-talent driver and always will be and you can't change my mind about that."

• "I think that HMS has a decision to make, and quick. I am sure that [Vickers] probably will stay there for the rest of the season, but if it was F1, he would have been looking for a tee time for next week. There is no way that in F1 that would be acceptable, no matter what his little story was in Victory Lane. Anyone with two eyes, and knowledge of the back story, knows what he did [Sunday] and why."

• "Vickers sucks so much."

Not all messages were bad, for example:

• "MY HERO!!! I love you man! You made my day."

• "Vickers rules. I don't blame him for pushing those losers out of the way to win a race."

Vickers said most of what he's heard has been positive, that he has a new appreciation for fans.

"Dale Earnhardt always said, 'I don't care if they're hollering for me or booing me, as long as they're making noise,'" said Vickers, quoting the seven-time Cup champion. "I don't feel any reason there should be a security issue."

Vickers doesn't see any reason there should be an issue at all. He remains adamant that he didn't try to wreck Johnson or Earnhardt, that he was trying to get a 1-2 finish for Hendrick Motorsports.

Because there are those at HMS that don't believe his sincerity, the win and ensuing week has been bittersweet.

"More than anything I hate it for the guys on the team," Vickers said. "Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports has worked so hard to see Ricky and Pop's [owner Rick Hendrick's late son and father] car back in Victory Lane and hasn't been able to celebrate like they should be able to."

The win was the first for the No. 25 since Joe Nemechek won the May 2003 race at Richmond.

"I went to Hendrick Motorsports Tuesday and all the guys were so excited," said Vickers, who dedicated the victory to Hendrick's son, who was killed in a plane crash on the way to Martinsville two years ago.

"I felt like they couldn't show it as much as they wanted to be, but everybody there was very excited as a whole."

Vickers said Hendrick has been supportive, not critical, since the win. He said the two spent nearly two hours talking over lunch this past week.

"His job as an owner is to support all of his teams," Vickers said. "He went and supported the 48 [Johnson's team] and he went and supported us. He's been in this business a long time and is very good at what he does.

"He understands that not everything is going to play out perfectly every time it happens. He knows we were going for a 1-2 for his organization. He's sad for those guys, but he's very happy to see Ricky and Pop's car back in Victory Lane."

Vickers said he also gained a lot of respect for Earnhardt for the way he handled a wreck that kept him from being in the thick of the championship chase.

"He really took it like a man," he said.

And Johnson?

"I'll work that out with him," Vickers said. "... As life goes on, you're always going to have ups and downs with friends. No matter how close they are to you, you're never always going to agree or get along.

"But as time goes on, hopefully he'll realize it wasn't intentional and realize I was trying to push him to a win."