DHL 400 - Brian Vickers Notes

'25' CONTINUES QUALIFYING STREAK: GMAC Racing earned its fifth consecutive top-10 start by qualifying second at Pocono last week. During the stretch dating back to May 2 at California Speedway, driver Brian Vickers and the No. 25 team have averaged a starting position of 3.40. No other NEXTEL Cup driver has started from within the top-10 in each of those events.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY: The Chevrolets of Vickers, Labonte and Jimmie Johnson will sport slightly different looks this weekend at Michigan. Along with nine other NEXTEL Cup drivers, the Hendrick Motorsports trio will carry special paint schemes honoring Father's Day. The highest-finishing driver in the program will earn $25,000 toward their dad's favorite charity.

VICKERS GETTING ROAD-COURSE READY: On Tuesday, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Vickers and Jeff Gordon spent the day polishing their road-course skills as the No. 24 and No. 25 teams participated in a one-day test session at Virginia International Raceway in preparation for the June 27 NEXTEL Cup event at Infineon Raceway.

VICKERS AT MICHIGAN: Driving the No. 25 Chevrolet, Vickers will make his NEXTEL Cup debut at Michigan this weekend. The 20-year-old has made one prior start at MIS, finishing 19th in the rain-shortened Busch Series event last August.

'25' CHASSIS INFO: The No. 25 GMAC Financial Services team will field Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 2551 this weekend at Michigan. The same car was used to compete at Atlanta Motor Speedway, California Speedway and Lowe's Motor Speedway earlier this season, qualifying second, sixth and fifth, respectively.

BRIAN VICKERS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 GMAC FINANCIAL SERVICES CHEVROLETS: (ON RACING AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY.) "Michigan was one of the first big tracks built, so it's different than those that have been constructed more recently. The track's been around long enough, helping the racing groove to widen out, which allows you to run anywhere from the bottom up to the top of the track -- so the racing is pretty good. You do have to deal with an 'aero-push' in traffic at MIS, but unlike some of the other tracks, you can change the line you run there to cope with it a little better."

VICKERS: (ON NASCAR'S RECENT CHANGES REGARDING THE USE OF ELECTRONIC SCORING.) "The changes made will be for the better. There are too many cars out on the track to rely upon the human element. If the technology is available -- like it is -- let's use it and help eliminate the potential for human error."

VICKERS: (HOW MUCH SATISFACTION IS THERE FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO RUN A SPECIAL PAINT SCHEME HONORING YOUR DAD ON FATHER'S DAY?) "There's a lot of satisfaction for me, maybe even more for my dad though. My parents (Clyde and Ramona Vickers) sacrificed many things to get me to the level I'm at. The special paint scheme is the least I can do to show my appreciation to my dad -- I can't thank him enough. I wouldn't be here today if it were not for him."

VICKERS: (HOW MUCH DOES FAITH IN YOUR CREW COME INTO PLAY FOR RACE SETUPS, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU'VE NEVER COMPETED AT SOME TRACKS IN A CUP CAR?) "I think it's having faith in each other -- that's the most important part. You have to be able to communicate well and trust each other. If Peter (Sospenzo, crew chief) wants to try something, I'll try it even though I may not always agree with him. I can't expect to try new things and have their faith in me if I don't do the same for them."