Brian Vickers, the 2003 Busch Series champion who retired from full‑time competition in 2015 after battling health problems, has recently been mentioned in the trove of emails belonging to Jeffrey Epstein, prompting a public response in which he emphatically denies any participation in the financier’s criminal activities.
His wife, Sarah Kellen, who was employed by Epstein in the early 2000s, was characterized during Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial as a ‘knowing participant’ in his sex‑trafficking operation. Correspondence dating from around 2012 shows the couple communicating with Epstein, including a message in which he described Vickers as a ‘major playboy,’ and a later email in which Kellen reached out after Michael Waltrip Racing encountered sponsorship concerns.
Career and Controversy
Vickers’s racing résumé includes a first Cup Series victory in 2006 and a third win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2013, as well as a controversial ‘Spingate’ episode with MWR in 2013 that contributed to his 2015 retirement. He now works as a NASCAR analyst for FOX, stepping in for Tony Stewart in 2016, and in 2026 he posted on X/Twitter to reiterate his commitment to love and peace, denying any link to Epstein’s crimes.