BRIAN VICKERS NOTES & QUOTES
VICKERS ON A TEAR:
Over the last four NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races dating back to Chicagoland Speedway, Brian Vickers and GMAC Racing have posted an average starting position of 4.75 to go along with an 8.0 average finish. Those stats include a pole position at New Hampshire International Speedway, a fourth-place result at Chicagoland and a third-place effort at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
LOOKIN’ FOR LUCKY SEVEN:
Rick Hendrick’s six Watkins Glen victories put him first among NEXTEL Cup team owners. Jack Roush is second with three wins at the track, while Joe Gibbs and Raymond Beadle are knotted for third with two each.
‘25’ LOOKING STRONG:
With Vickers’ third-place result Sunday at Indy, GMAC Racing recorded its fourth top-five finish and sixth top-10 of 2005. The No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports team hasn’t posted that many top-fives since 2001 with driver Jerry Nadeau, who posted four that season. The top-10 mark is the team’s best since 1998, when multiple drivers combined for a total of six. Fifteen races remain in the 2005 campaign.
VICKERS ON THE ROAD:
The 21-year-old Vickers has made three NEXTEL Cup road-course starts, including his debut at Watkins Glen in 2004. His best qualifying effort on a road course came in June at Infineon Raceway, where he started 16th on the grid. Vickers top road-course finish of 22nd came in 2004, also at Infineon.
WHERE’S WALTER:
Chad Walter, chief engineer for the Nos. 5 and 25 NEXTEL Cup teams, will enjoy a homecoming of sorts this weekend when the NASCAR circuit visits Watkins Glen. Walter hails from nearby Albion, N.Y., and is a graduate of Cornell University in Ithaca.
BRIAN VICKERS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 GMAC/ditech.com CHEVROLETS:
(ON HIS TEAM’S STRONG PERFORMANCE AS OF LATE.) “I think everything is beginning to come together for us. Everyone from top to bottom has been working hard and it’s paying off. It’s been a total team effort. We’re proving to people that we can be competitive and our good finishes only help to reinforce that. There’s still some work to do, but I know I like what I’m seeing from everyone right now and believe things will only get better.”
VICKERS:
(ON SUNDAY’S THIRD-PLACE FINISH AT INDIANAPOLIS.) “We’re all pretty happy with the third-place finish. The car was just a little too tight at the end, but all-in-all it was a big day for the team. I’m so proud of the guys. A win would have been awesome, but third is certainly nice.”
VICKERS:
(ON ROAD RACING.) “We’ve taken a lot of steps to speed up my learning curve on the road courses this year, from additional testing to attending the Bob Bondurant Driving School. Road racing is still fairly new to me, and being competitive on the road courses is all about having seat time and becoming familiar with the track. I’m going to learn as much as I can from Saturday’s Busch Series race and apply it to Sunday, with the hopes of getting a good finish. We had a good car at Infineon in June, but fell victim to circumstances out of our control. I think the GMAC Racing team will be up to the challenge for Sunday’s race.”
