GFS Marketplace 400 - Brian Vickers Notes

VICKERS AT MIS: At Michigan, Brian Vickers will make his 28th career Cup Series start and his third overall at the two-mile oval. During the June NEXTEL Cup event, the 20-year-old qualified second and finished ninth, joining teammate Jimmie Johnson in the top-10. In 2003, Vickers started ninth and finished 19th at MIS in Busch Series competition.

HENDRICK GOES 1-2-3 IN JUNE: Hendrick Motorsports swept the top three qualifying positions when the NEXTEL Cup Series last visited Michigan, with Jeff Gordon claiming the pole, Vickers second and Johnson third. The No. 25 GMAC Financial Services team finished ninth to earn their second of three top-10 results in 2004.

SUCCESSFUL CAR FOR '25': GMAC Racing will look to Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 2547 when the Cup Series returns to Brooklyn, Mich., this weekend. It's not the same car used at Michigan in June; however, the chassis was raced at both Pocono events in 2004 and at Chicagoland Speedway in July. In its three races, Chassis No. 2547 has never qualified worse than sixth and has three top-15 finishes.

ROOKIE STARTING UP FRONT: Of the 26 starts Vickers has made for the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports team, 15 have come from inside the top-six, including his first career NEXTEL Cup pole position at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in May.

$250K GOES TO VICTORY JUNCTION: On behalf of the Victory Junction Gang Camp, Vickers accepted a $250,000 donation Tuesday from the Pizza Hut restaurants of North and South Carolina. The check will be used to help fund the Victory Junction Gang Water Tower. Vickers, Toby Robertson and the T. Wayne Robertson Fund already have supported the VJGC by sponsoring a camper cabin.

BRIAN VICKERS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 GMAC FINANCIAL SERVICES CHEVROLETS: (ON HIS RECENT STRING OF ON-TRACK INCIDENTS.) "I'm embarrassed about what's gone on during the last three races. Some were just racing incidents and some were solely my fault. What happened at Watkins Glen with Dale (Jarrett) was a huge mistake on my behalf. It was a case of me being way too impatient at that point in the race.

"It's been a learning year for us. I've tried to build a reputation as a patient driver that's around at the end of races. It seems like all the boneheaded moves I've avoided over the years have been dumped into the last three weeks. We're going to move on and I'm looking forward to getting things turned around this weekend in Michigan."

PETER SOSPENZO, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 25 GMAC FINANCIAL SERVICES CHEVROLETS: (ON HIS DECISION TO BRING A DIFFERENT CAR TO MICHIGAN, DESPITE QUALIFYING SECOND AND FINISHING NINTH IN JUNE.) "I expect us to be even better at Michigan this time around. We're bringing a different car that we feel is better aerodynamically than the car we ran with in June. It's the same car Brian drove at Pocono a few weeks ago. We believe it'll help us in race trim and we know it has the speed to qualify up front."