VICKERS IS HENDRICK’S ‘TOP GUN’:
Brian Vickers will trade in his driving suit for a flight suit Thursday when the 21-year-old will fly in an F-14 fighter-jet at the United States naval base in Oceana, Va. Prior to strapping into the cockpit, Vickers will be required to complete pre-flight training that includes classroom instruction, ejection seat simulation and lessons inside an altitude chamber.
HENDRICK POLE POSITIONING AT RIR:
A Hendrick Motorsports pole position this week at Richmond would mark the third consecutive year that one of the organization’s teams has started from the top spot in the spring NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event. Vickers started up front last season and Terry Labonte earned the honor in 2003.
‘5’ & ‘25’ BRINGING PHOENIX CARS TO RIR:
Phoenix International Raceway may hold the key to Richmond success for the Nos. 5 and 25 NEXTEL Cup teams of Hendrick Motorsports. This weekend, both are fielding primary cars that scored top-10 finishes at PIR last month, when Vickers was a career-best fifth and Busch eighth.
VICKERS AT RICHMOND:
Vickers, driver of the No. 25 GMAC/ditech.com Chevrolets, scored his first career top-10 NASCAR result while competing at Richmond in May 2002, finishing seventh after starting 38th in the Busch Series. In 2004, Vickers captured both his first NEXTEL Cup pole and top-10 finish (seventh) during the May event at the three-quarter-mile facility.
HENDRICK GOING FOR EIGHTH RIR VICTORY:
Rick Hendrick has seven car owner wins at Richmond, tying him with Junior Johnson and Bud Moore for second on the all-time list. He trails only Petty Engineering, which has 15 victories there.
‘25’ LOOKING FOR SECOND RIR POLE:
Vickers and GMAC Racing roll into Richmond as the event’s defending pole-position winners. The No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports team captured the top qualifying spot for the May 2004 event, marking the first-ever pole for Vickers in NEXTEL Cup competition. He still holds the track record after his lap of 129.348 mph in time trials.
VIRGINIA IS FOR RACERS:
GMAC Racing crew members Jim Jenkins, Tom Stewart and Brian Whitesell all hail from the commonwealth of Virginia. Jenkins, a mechanic, and Stewart, the team’s lead engineer, were both raised in Hampton, about 75 miles east of Richmond International Raceway. Whitesell, the team manager for the Nos. 5, 25 and 44 teams, is from Stuarts Draft.
BRIAN VICKERS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 GMAC/ditech.com CHEVROLETS:
(HOW DOES IT FEEL KNOWING YOU’RE GOING BACK TO A TRACK WHERE YOU’VE HAD SUCCESS?) “Any time you run well at a particular track, you automatically look forward to returning there to race. Richmond is one of those places a lot of us (drivers) grew up racing on and it brings back a lot of memories.”
VICKERS:
(WHAT’S THE KEY TO RUNNING WELL AT RIR?) “You have to have a car that rotates well in the center of the corners and has a lot of grip exiting the corners so you have the ability to pull down under someone exiting Turn 2 and Turn 4 because those are the two best places to make passes.”
VICKERS:
(ON THE OPPORTUNITY TO FLY IN AN F-14 JET.) “It’s probably going to be one of the coolest rides I’ve ever taken in my life. I enjoy flying and love adrenaline rushes. Everything that comes to mind when I think of an F-14 jet has me very anxious. It’s going to be a blast.”
