BRIAN VICKERS NOTES & QUOTES
CALI QUALIFIER:
Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 25 GMAC/ditech.com Chevrolets, captured the NEXTEL Cup pole position at California Speedway in September 2004. In three career starts at the two-mile oval, Vickers maintains an average starting position of 3.0, which is best among active drivers and includes a second-place qualifying effort during this year’s February race weekend.
‘HOLLYWOOD’ HENDRICK:
Rick Hendrick’s teams have posted victories in four of the 10 races held at California Speedway, putting him first in that category among car owners. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, two drivers with Golden State roots, have each earned wins for Hendrick at the track. Gordon has three, more than any other driver, and Johnson one.
VICKERS AT FONTANA:
In each of his three NEXTEL Cup Series starts at California Speedway, Vickers has led at least one lap, including 44 in September 2004.
‘25’ STREAKING SINCE CHICAGO:
During the last four races on ovals 1.5 miles or greater, Vickers and GMAC Racing have averaged a finishing position of 7.5. The team has posted a result no worse than 14th during the streak, which dates back to the July event at Chicagoland Speedway.
PAPIS LENDS A HAND:
Ace road-course racer Max Papis, a works driver for General Motors Racing, spent Aug. 23-24 testing a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at Road Atlanta in an effort to evaluate the team’s gearboxes. The Italian wheelman, who tested solely in race trim, gave excellent feedback throughout the two-day session to help garner vital information for Hendrick engineers.
CHASSIS 353 FOR ‘25’:
Crew chief Lance McGrew has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 353 for this weekend’s NEXTEL Cup festivities at California. Sunday will mark the car’s third appearance of 2005 after running Aug. 7 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the team qualified fifth and finished third.
VICKERS & BUSCH AUTOGRAPH SESSIONS:
Vickers will greet fans and sign autographs Saturday at Rotolo Chevrolet in Fontana, Calif., at 5 p.m. PT. Busch will do the same at the Kellogg’s Racing souvenir trailer Sunday beginning at 1:15 p.m. PT.
BRIAN VICKERS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 GMAC/ditech.com CHEVROLETS:
(WHY DO YOU HAVE SUCH A STRONG QUALIFYING RECORD AT CALIFORNIA?) “I enjoy the speed associated with qualifying at California and we’ve had good cars to get the job done. Given the speeds we run there in qualifying, you need to have a comfortable race car because it’s not uncommon to see cars going off into Turn 1 during qualifying pushing 200 mph.”
VICKERS: (ON HIS 20TH-PLACE FINISH AT BRISTOL.)
“I thought we were going to leave Bristol with a decent finish. We were running 11th or 12th with about 25 laps to go and on a restart something didn’t feel right. During the course of the run, the car continued getting tighter and tighter, costing us a lot of positions. During the last caution with about five to go, Lance (McGrew, crew chief) elected to pit for four tires. When the stop was completed, we noticed the right-front tire was going down. It’s too bad because we had a car better than 20th.”
VICKERS: (ON HIS EXCITEMENT GOING INTO THE NEXT FOUR RACES ON THE SCHEDULE.)
“I try to take one race at a time, but if you look ahead to California, Richmond, New Hampshire and Dover, I think we’re going to be strong. We’ve always run better than we’ve finished at California and I expect that to change this week. Last week we had a solid, solid test at Richmond, which has me excited to get back there. Then, we go to New Hampshire, where we won the pole in July, and Dover, a place we ran well earlier this year. Nothing’s guaranteed, but it looks good on paper. Only time will tell.”
KEN HOWES, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS VICE PRESIDENT OF COMPETITION:
(ON MAX PAPIS TESTING AT ROAD ATLANTA.) “The main reason we scheduled this test with Max was to evaluate the reliability of our transmissions in a road race setup. We asked Max to drive for us because of his road racing abilities and his experience in a variety of different types of race cars. We felt he could help out. We also wanted his input on all aspects of the car. Another point of view. We now have lots of data to sift through. We learned a lot and are very pleased with Max’s efforts. It was a very good test.”
