Sharpie 500 - Brian Vickers Notes

HENDRICK TEAMS TESTING NEW HAMPSHIRE: GMAC Racing and driver Brian Vickers are scheduled to test New Hampshire International Speedway with teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson on Tuesday, Aug. 31. Vickers' No. 25 Chevrolet placed 34th at the one-mile oval during the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event in July.

NEW CHASSIS FOR '25': GMAC Racing will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 2540 when the NEXTEL Cup Series returns to Bristol this weekend, marking the car's debut. Plagued by driveshaft problems that sent him behind the wall for repairs, Vickers finished 35th at BMS in March.

HAMILTON STEPS UP FOR GMAC RACING: Chris "Happy" Hamilton will once again serve as gasman for GMAC Racing on Saturday night at Bristol. Hamilton, also the regular gasman for the No. 5 Chevrolets of Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Busch Series, has been fueling the No. 25 Chevrolets for the past three events in place of injured crew member Chris Fasulka, who is recovering from a back injury. Fasulka is expected to return to action in September.

FIRST POLE CAME AT BRISTOL: On Aug. 25, 1984 at Bristol, Geoffrey Bodine captured the first pole position for Hendrick Motorsports in NASCAR's Cup Series. Since then, Hendrick Motorsports teams have earned more than 120 first-place starts.

BRIAN VICKERS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 GMAC FINANCIAL SERVICES CHEVROLETS: (HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY TO SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE?) "It's like the coliseum in Rome. The grandstands go up as high as you can see and the people come from all over to watch racing there. I understand why the night race at Bristol continues to be one of the hottest tickets going in our sport, hands down."

VICKERS: (IF YOU DON'T MAKE THE CHASE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP, WILL YOUR TEAM CHANGE ITS APPROACH TO EACH RACE?) "Most importantly, we need to continue to improve our performance and learn. We still want to get a win before the season is out. One of our goals coming into the season was to win a pole and we've accomplished that already. There's plenty of time for us to continue developing as a team and become more consistent from week to week. When we do that, we'll be in a better position to go for that first win."