BRIAN VICKERS NOTES & QUOTES
NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES

VICKERS POSTS POCONO TOP-FIVE: Driving a No. 25 GMAC Chevrolet, Brian Vickers led for 19 laps at Pocono Raceway en route to a fourth-place finish in Sunday's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event. It was the best finish for the team since its third-place result at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April.

BETTER THAN AVERAGE: In four NEXTEL Cup races, Vickers has posted an average starting position of 4.75 at Michigan. During the most recent visit to there in August 2005, Vickers started seventh and finished ninth.

CHASSIS 384 FOR '25': Crew chief Lance McGrew will call upon Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 384 for Sunday's 400-miler at Michigan. Vickers most recently drove the then-new machine in the All-Star Challenge and 600-mile Cup event at Lowe's Motor Speedway last month.

WELCOME HOME, JAKE: Jake Brzozowski, a Sterling Heights, Mich., native who works in the paint and body shop for the No. 25 GMAC team, returns home this weekend. A front-tire carrier, Brzozowski recently transitioned from Hendrick Motorsports' No. 5 NASCAR Busch Series team, making his first NEXTEL Cup over-the-wall appearance last weekend at Pocono.

VICKERS SIGNING: Following the completion of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series final practice on Saturday, Brian Vickers will greet fans and sign autographs at the GMAC Racing souvenir hauler outside Michigan International Speedway.

BRIAN VICKERS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 GMAC CHEVROLETS: (WITH ALL OF THE NEWS OF LAST WEEK BEHIND YOU, WHAT'S THE GAME PLAN FOR THIS WEEKEND?) "I'm proud of everyone on the team. It felt really good to get the kind of finish we did at Pocono. I expect our GMAC Racing team to pick up at Michigan where we left off at Pocono. No matter what anyone thinks, everyone on our team is still focused on the task at hand and right now that's Michigan."

VICKERS: (WILL EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW BE A DISTRACTION TO YOU?) "I think our team's performance at Pocono last week is the best answer to that. All of us still have obligations and we're going to continue to do our work as professionals, just like we've always done."

VICKERS: (ON RACING AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY.) "Michigan was one of the first big tracks built, so it's different than those that have been constructed more recently. The track's been around long enough, helping the racing groove to widen out, which allows you to run anywhere from the bottom up to the top of the track -- so the racing is pretty good."

VICKERS: (WITH FATHER'S DAY THIS WEEKEND, WHAT HAS YOUR DAD MEANT TO YOUR CAREER?) "Both of my parents have been very supportive throughout my career. Just like I've had to make sacrifices to be able to reach the level I have, so have my parents. At every turn, they were making sacrifices, too. I can't thank my dad enough for everything he's done for me."