BRIAN VICKERS NOTES & QUOTES
ATLANTA’S BEEN GOOD TO ‘25’:
During the last two trips to Atlanta Motor Speedway, driver Brian Vickers and GMAC Racing have earned consecutive top-10 finishes of sixth (March 2005) and seventh (October 2004) in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series competition. Dating back to the 2000 season (11 races), the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports team has posted one victory, four top-five performances, seven top-10 results and eight top-15 qualifying efforts at the 1.54-mile track.
HENDRICK TIES JUNIOR JOHNSON:
Jeff Gordon’s first-place finish Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway gave Rick Hendrick his 139th Cup-level victory, tying him with legendary team owner Junior Johnson for second on NASCAR’s all-time list (1949-present). Hendrick, who leads all Cup owners in modern-era wins (1972-present), now trails only Petty Enterprises overall.
NINE WOULD BE FINE:
A victory Sunday would put car owner Rick Hendrick in a three-way tie for second on the all-time Cup Series win list at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Hendrick is one victory behind Richard Childress and Junior Johnson, who each have nine triumphs at the track. The Wood Brothers lead with 12 trips to Victory Lane there.
AMS MARKED VICKERS’ ‘25’ DEBUT:
Vickers made his No. 25 Chevrolet debut in October 2003 at Atlanta, where he qualified fourth and finished 43rd in Cup Series competition.
VICKERS UP FRONT:
In four career Cup Series races at Atlanta, Vickers has qualified no lower than 14th and maintains an average starting position of 6.75.
CHASSIS 295 FOR GMAC RACING:
Crew chief Lance McGrew has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 294 for this weekend’s Atlanta race. Sunday will mark the car’s fourth Cup appearance of 2005 after running in both races at Pocono Raceway and the Oct. 9 event at Kansas Speedway. It has not finished outside the top-15 this season and was runner-up at Pocono in June.
VICKERS TO TEST ‘CAR OF TOMORROW’:
Following Sunday’s race, Vickers will remain in Atlanta to conduct a test session for NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports. He will be driving the next-generation NEXTEL Cup Series car, known as the “car of tomorrow.” Several other teams that have built the new cars will be testing as well.
BRIAN VICKERS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 GMAC/ditech.com CHEVROLETS:
(IS ATLANTA A PLACE WHERE YOU COULD GET YOUR FIRST CUP WIN?) “The No. 25 has always run well at Atlanta and I enjoy racing there because of all the options it provides when it comes to racing grooves. We have as good a chance to win as anyone. If we can improve just a little on our spring run, I think we’ll contend.”
VICKERS: (WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO QUALIFY WELL AT ATLANTA?)
“It’s a combination of stupidity and bravery. You’re on the gas quite a bit during a qualifying run and all you can do is hold your breath, hope for the best and trust your team.”
