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BRISTOL, Tenn. — While contemplating heart surgery because of blood clots that have kept him from racing since May, Thomasville's Brian Vickers looked at the worst-case scenarios.

If something went wrong in the operating room, Vickers could die. If the hole in his heart wasn't repaired, he could, someday, suffer a stroke.

Vickers had surgery July 12.

"I would rather die than have a stroke," Vickers said Saturday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway. "I don't want to live like a vegetable."

The 26-year-old Trinity High School alumnus spoke publicly Saturday for the first time since that surgery and another one a day later to place a stent in his left leg.

Vickers has not raced since May 8 at Darlington, a few days before blood clots were found in his lungs and left leg. He will not race the rest of the season.

Saturday, Vickers revealed that doctors later found a blood clot in his left finger. That caused additional concern.

Doctors discovered that blood clots could travel through a hole between Vickers' right and left atriums in his heart. The hole is a relatively common condition that often closes after birth but didn't in his case.

Once through the left atrium, Vickers said, the blood clot could travel either to his left arm, which it did, or to his brain and possibly cause a stroke.

Vickers said that doctors theorized that his blood clots were the result of May-Thurner Syndrome, a narrowing of a left vein because of pressure from an overlying artery. Doctors inserted a stent in his left leg to prevent the May-Thurner Syndrome from striking again.

Vickers remains positive that he will be racing again next season. He continues to take blood thinners and expects to be off those sometime in January. He has no more surgeries scheduled. He will need NASCAR approval to return to racing and Vickers said he had yet to talk to series officials about that.

This experience has changed Vickers.

"I am going to change some," he said. "I'll probably tolerate a lot less, but at the same time there are going to be areas of my life where I tolerate a lot more. I have a new appreciation for life."

Vickers has not been to the track that often lately, instead using the time to spend with friends and family. He said he wasn't aware of Red Bull Racing signing Kasey Kahne to be a teammate until he read about it. Three weeks after his surgeries, he rode a bicycle more than 40 miles with friends in Aspen, Colo.

"I'm probably going to be in the best shape I've ever been in my life when I come back racing," said Vickers. "I'm still training every day. I'm trying to make the most of my time off. My main priority is getting back to racing next year."

Even as he prepares to race again, Vickers admits that it has been tough not to race.

"I just miss being in the car," Vickers said. "I've missed doing 200 mph. I've missed banging fenders with guys I love and hate."

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com