Bashas' Supermarkets 200 - Brian Vickers Notes

ONE-MILE WONDER: In four NASCAR Busch Series races at one-mile ovals in 2003, GMAC Racing and driver Brian Vickers have posted four top-five finishes, including one win, while leading a total of 178 laps. The team's most recent victory came in September at Dover (Del.) International Speedway -- a mile-long race track. Vickers' worst result on a one-miler also came at Dover, where he finished fifth in May. This weekend, the Busch Series heads to Phoenix International Raceway, a mile-length oval in Avondale, Ariz.

OUT FRONT: With a fifth-place qualifying effort at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Vickers has started in the top 10 in all but one of his last 15 races in the No. 5 GMAC Financial Services Chevrolet dating back to The Milwaukee Mile in June. GMAC Racing has an average starting position of 6.0 over those 15 events compared to a 9.8 average for the season.

NOT TOO SHABBY: GMAC Racing's 31st-place finish at Atlanta marked just the third time in two-dozen races that the team failed to post a top-20 result. The 24-event span goes back to Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway, where Vickers finished ninth in April.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: After finishing 32nd at Kansas Speedway four races ago, GMAC Racing fell from first to third in the point standings, only to recapture the championship lead two races later, after the event at Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park. With three Busch Series events remaining, Vickers ranks fifth in the driver standings, just 49 points behind leader David Green.

IF IT AIN'T BROKE: GMAC Racing will field Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 273 on Saturday at Phoenix -- the same car that most recently was used to recapture the point lead by finishing fifth at Memphis two races ago. The team utilized the same chassis to win their first race of the season at Indianapolis Raceway Park in August.

THIRD CUP START AT PIR: Driving the No. 25 UAW-Delphi Chevrolet at Phoenix, Vickers will make his third career NASCAR Winston Cup Series start on Sunday. He will also pilot the No. 25 Chevy at 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 FALLING FROM FIRST TO FIFTH IN THE POINT STANDINGS.) "Finishing 31st didn't help us any in the points, that's for sure. It seems like whoever has the lead is jinxed, race after race. There's three races left and our GMAC team is not going to give up -- that's just not our style. We were faced with the same challenge three races ago when we finished 32nd at Kansas, and then battled back to lead the points after Memphis. Now, we've got three races to go for the title. Don't count us out."

VICKERS: (WOULD YOU RATHER BE "THE HUNTED" OR "THE HUNTER" IN THE POINTS?) "Definitely the hunter. I want to be able to track down the leader and not have to worry about what the other four guys behind me are doing. When it comes down to it, I don't want to be leading heading into Miami."

VICKERS: (ON PHOENIX.) "It's a flat, one-mile track, and we've run really well at those kind of places so far this season. I expect us to rebound from Atlanta and have a strong showing at PIR."

LANCE McGREW, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 GMAC FINANCIAL SERVICES CHEVROLET: (GIVEN THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS WITH ONLY THREE RACES REMAINING, WILL YOU APPROACH THE LAST FEW EVENTS ANY DIFFERENTLY?) "Not really. I've always been on the conservative side when it comes to making decisions in the pits on race day. I don't see us needing to change anything or do anything drastic right now. We're not panicking because we know we've come back before. Now, come Homestead, maybe that's when you'll see some different calls being made."

McGREW: (HOW'S THE MORALE OF THE TEAM NOW?) "Everyone's upbeat. They know we're not out of it. We talked about what happened at Atlanta and made preparations should we be faced with a similar situation in the future. You have to be able to learn from your mistakes and be better prepared for the next time. But the lead is still just 49 points."

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