PREVIEW: BRIAN VICKERS (NO. 25 GMAC CHEVROLET)
VENUE: CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY (TWO-MILE OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES (RACE 25 OF 36)
EVENT: SUNDAY, SEPT. 3 (250 LAPS, 500 MILES)

'25' GOING GREEN IN CALI: Brian Vickers' No. 25 Chevrolet will sport a different look this weekend at California Speedway. Garnier, the popular unisex haircare brand, will be featured on the hood of the bold bright-green design. The scheme will adorn the car in one more NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event this season -- Kansas Speedway in October.

VICKERS AT CALIFORNIA: In five NEXTEL Cup races at California, Vickers has posted an average starting position of 9.2, third-best among active drivers.

SWEET SEPTEMBER: In the September 2005 event at California Speedway, Vickers and the No. 25 GMAC Racing team finished third. It was the best-ever result for a No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at the two-mile oval.

CHASSIS 384 FOR '25': GMAC Racing will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 384 when the NEXTEL Cup Series returns to California this weekend. Sunday will mark the car's third race of 2006 after a 17th-place finish at Michigan in June and a 13th at Chicagoland in July. Chassis No. 384 has qualified in the top five in both of its events this season.

* * * * * * * * * *

BRIAN VICKERS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 GMAC CHEVROLET: (ON THE TEAM'S PERFORMANCE AT CALIFORNIA IN FEBRUARY.) "We didn't qualify as well as we normally do, but in the race we had a good car. Early on, I was caught for speeding on pit road, but because of how the race went, it seemed like someone else always received the free pass. Our car was good, real good. We were running lap times as fast as or faster than the leader, but it didn't matter because we were a lap down."

VICKERS: (CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY LOOKS A LOT LIKE MICHIGAN, BUT HOW SIMILAR ARE THEY?) "With the aging of the pavement, the last couple of races have allowed us to fan out and run multiple grooves. California isn't as good as Michigan when you're talking about being able to run high, low or in the middle. At Michigan, on Lap 1 you can fan out and go high or go low around somebody, but at California you have to run right around the white line for the first 10 or 15 laps until the tires begin to wear. Then you're able to start searching for other lines, trying to find the grip."