BRIAN VICKERS NOTES & QUOTES
ANNIVERSARY OF '25':
2006 marks the 20th anniversary of the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports team, which has 29 pole positions and 15 wins since 1986. Tim Richmond, one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, won the first pole for the team at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on April 27, 1986. Brian Vickers, the current driver of the No. 25 Chevrolets, was just 2 years old at the time.
HENDRICK AT MARTINSVILLE:
Car owner Rick Hendrick has earned 13 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series victories at Martinsville, tying him with Junior Johnson for second on the track's all-time list. Petty Engineering has 19 victories at the .526-mile venue.
VICKERS AT MARTINSVILLE:
Vickers, driver of the No. 25 GMAC Chevys, posted a career-best Martinsville finish of 13th in April 2004. During the NEXTEL Cup Series' most recent stop there in October 2005, Vickers qualified 17th and was running 11th before a rear-end problem forced the team to pull behind the pit wall for repairs.
LIKE CLOCKWORK:
For seven consecutive NEXTEL Cup events, a Hendrick-owned Chevrolet has either taken the checkered flag or started from the pole position at Martinsville Speedway. During that that span, dating back to April 2002, Hendrick Motorsports has earned five victories and four poles at the track. Two of the wins -- both by driver Jeff Gordon -- have come from the pole.
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, while Whitesell, team manager for the Nos. 5, 25 and 44 teams, is from Stuarts Draft. Whitesell is a graduate of Virginia Tech University in nearby Blacksburg.
VICKERS & LABONTE APPEARING IN SALEM:
On Thursday, Brian Vickers and Terry Labonte will greet fans and sign autographs beginning at 5 p.m. local time at "Kroger Night with the Drivers," a fan festival at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va. The event will raise money for the Victory Junction Gang Camp.
BRIAN VICKERS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 GMAC CHEVROLETS:
(HOW MUCH CARRY-OVER FROM BRISTOL DO YOU ANTICIPATE AT MARTINSVILLE?) "Tempers usually die down a little before we get to Martinsville, thanks in part to not being on the track until we show up on Friday. I'm not saying all gets forgotten, but some feuds do get addressed during the week between. It's not necessarily all carryover, though, because tight racing at Martinsville will produce some new feuds."
VICKERS:
(ON THE TEAM'S STRETCH OF BAD LUCK.) "Without a doubt, we need to get back on track this weekend at Martinsville. During the fall race last year, I probably had the best car I've ever driven at Martinsville until we had some problems with the car's rear-end components. Hopefully, we can pick up where we left off and get a good, solid finish."
VICKERS:
(WHEN YOU'VE HAD A PROBLEM WITH SOMEONE, DO YOU EVER WORRY ABOUT RETALIATION THE FOLLOWING WEEK?) "Some may worry more than others, but I don't put too much thought into it. I guess if you've done something wrong, you might worry a little more about getting paid back. On some levels, our sport is self-policing in that if you make a mistake and get into someone, chances are they'll settle the score. It may not happen at the next race, or the one after, but somewhere down the road it all usually evens out."
