Aaron's 312 - Brian Vickers Notes

'TEENAGE TERROR' NO MORE: Brian Vickers will turn 20 on Friday, and he would like to celebrate by winning his first career NASCAR Busch Series pole position. Vickers, who was born Oct. 24, 1983 in Thomasville, N.C., has earned three career victories in 55 Busch Series starts -- with all the wins coming since Aug. 1, 2003.

VICKERS FIRST IN CLOSE TITLE HUNT: With a fifth-place effort at Memphis, Vickers and GMAC Racing regained the lead in Busch Series championship points. Vickers led the standings for one week following the Dover event in September, only to lose it the following week at Kansas Speedway. With four races remaining, he now leads second-place David Green by just 23 points and fifth-place Scott Riggs by merely 44, making the 2003 title chase the closest in Busch Series history at this stage of the season.

MID-RACE LEADER: The GMAC Racing team has led at the halfway point in five of the last seven races dating back to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in August. During that span, the only two tracks at which the team failed to hold the lead position at halfway were Richmond (Va.) International Raceway and Kansas Speedway. The No. 5 team has posted five top-fives and six top-10 finishes in those seven events.

LEADING THE WAY: In Busch Series competition, only NASCAR Winston Cup Series regular Kevin Harvick (911) has led more laps than Vickers (617) this season, but no driver has led more times than the Thomasville, N.C., native. Vickers has paced the field on 27 different occasions in 2003.

ATLANTA TEST FOR GMAC RACING: GMAC Racing joined several Busch Series teams for two days of testing on Oct. 13-14 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in preparation for Saturday's Aaron's 312. During the second day, the team posted the second-fastest lap for a Busch Series car at 184.677 mph, unofficially.

VICKERS 'DISCOVERED' AT ATLANTA: It was one year ago during the Atlanta race weekend that car owner Ricky Hendrick first took notice of Vickers, when he was driving a limited schedule for his family-owned operation. Vickers, who led nine laps in the event and finished 12th, raised the eyebrows of Hendrick after posting the best time during the final practice session despite never having made a lap on the track. In December 2002, Hendrick signed Vickers to drive the No. 5 GMAC Financial Services Chevrolet for the 2003 season.

CUP RACING FOR VICKERS: Driving the No. 25 UAW-Delphi Chevrolet at Atlanta, Vickers will make his second career Winston Cup start on Sunday. He will also pilot the No. 25 Chevy at Phoenix, Rockingham, N.C., and the season finale at Homestead, Fla., before going full-time next season with primary sponsorship from GMAC Financial Services.

BRIAN VICKERS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 GMAC FINANCIAL SERVICES CHEVROLET: (ON FINISHING FIFTH AT MEMPHIS.) "I drove a little harder than I normally would during the middle portion of the race and probably used up my tires. I just wanted to make sure we earned the extra bonus points for leading the most laps. We would have liked to win, but fifth place is good and we got the points lead back."

VICKERS: (ON MOVING BACK INTO THE POINTS LEAD.) "It feels good, but right now it doesn't matter too much. I want to be the leader after the most important race -- Miami. As many times as the lead has changed recently, I'm not so sure if it's good to have the lead. It almost seems like the leader is jinxed. Maybe we can perform a ceremony to break it."

VICKERS: (ON PULLING DOUBLE-DUTY DURING THE REMAINING FOUR RACES OF THE SEASON.) "I'm looking forward to it. Some people have questioned the decision to have me run the last four Cup races because we're in the midst of competing for the Busch Series championship. I think the four races will help me not only in the long run, but in the immediate future, too. I'll get a lot more track time and I think it will help my focus. With my time being occupied on the track, there will be less idle time for me to sit around and think about the championship."

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