'25' GOES GREEN AT TEXAS:
This weekend will mark the debut of a new-look paint scheme for the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets, as Brian Vickers' NEXTEL Cup ride will sport the colors of Garnier Fructis at Texas. The race will mark the first foray into motor sports by Garnier Fructis, the wildly popular unisex haircare brand owned by L'Oreal USA. The trademark bright-green design will adorn the car in one additional event this season -- Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August.
HENDRICK AT TEXAS:
Hendrick Motorsports drivers have been successful in Cup Series competition at Texas Motor Speedway since the track opened in 1997. Labonte leads all drivers in top-10 finishes (5), while Jeff Gordon has the most top-fives (4) and Jimmie Johnson owns the best average result (7.67).
VICKERS HOPING TO IMPROVE ON TEXAS BEST:
Last season's 12th-place finish by Vickers at Texas Motor Speedway was the best result for the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports team since the track began hosting NEXTEL Cup Series events in 1997.
BUSCH & VICKERS PRESENT AT CMT AWARDS:
Busch and Vickers appeared at Monday night's Country Music Television Awards in Nashville, Tenn. The pair presented Toby Keith with "Hottest Video of the Year" honors for the hit "Whiskey Girl."
SEŅOR VICKERS:
Vickers this week participated in the first of his many upcoming Spanish lessons. The Thomasville, N.C., native had his initial tutorial with Berlitz International, a company renowned for its language instruction. Vickers is working to complete the first level of proficiency (10 courses), which should take approximately seven weeks.
McGREW AT TEXAS:
In two NASCAR Busch Series races at Texas over the past two seasons, crew chief Lance McGrew, 37, has enjoyed considerable success, guiding two young talents -- Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers -- to a runner-up finish, a pair of top-five starts and one pole position (2004). In those two events, McGrew's drivers led a combined 234 of 400 possible laps. He is now a rookie NEXTEL Cup crew chief, leading the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports team with Vickers behind the wheel.
CHASSIS NO. 334 FOR VICKERS:
GMAC Racing will once again field Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 334 for this weekend's 500-mile NEXTEL Cup event at Texas. The car started second and finished 21st at California Speedway and most recently appeared at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where it qualified eighth and finished sixth. The Atlanta performance ranks as the best of Vickers' NEXTEL Cup career.
TEAMMATES HIT THE ROAD COURSE:
Following Sunday's NEXTEL Cup event at Texas, Vickers and Busch will fly directly to Phoenix, where the teammates will take part in Bob Bondurant's Road Racing School. The three-day session will help prepare the duo for the upcoming road-course events at Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.
BRIAN VICKERS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 GMAC/GARNIER CHEVROLETS:
(DID TEXAS DESERVE A SECOND NEXTEL CUP SERIES RACE?) "There's no doubt in my mind the right decision was made to award Texas with a second Cup race. The facility is first-class, the fans are great and they pack the place year after year. I'm a native of North Carolina and I'll be the first to say I hate to see races being moved from my home state and other places in the southeast. But the fact is that we already have a lot of races in the southeast and some of them don't fill the grandstands now. Fans can best voice their opinion by purchasing tickets and that's what the fans have done in Texas. I have no problems with going to Texas for two races a year."
VICKERS: (ON TEXAS.)
"I have a lot of fond memories of racing at Texas Motor Speedway, some better than others. We had a dominant car in the Busch race in 2003 and led a lot of laps until being caught up in a mess on the restart. Having a great car and not being able to win the race was a big disappointment. Fortunately, we rebounded and came back in the Cup Series last year and really had a good, solid weekend. We qualified decently and finished decently -- so that was a bright spot."
