BRIAN VICKERS NOTES & QUOTES

STARTING AT THE FRONT: In four NEXTEL Cup starts, Brian Vickers has never qualified worse than sixth at Phoenix. Vickers, driver of the No. 25 GMAC Chevrolets, has earned a pair of outside pole positions and maintains an average finish of 15.5 at the one-mile track.

ONE-MILE WONDERS: In the six NEXTEL Cup events held last season at one-mile tracks -- Dover (twice), New Hampshire (twice) and Phoenix (twice) -- Vickers and GMAC Racing recorded one pole position (New Hampshire), two top-10 finishes and five top-15s. The team has averaged a result of 12.5 at those venues.

TOP-FIVE FINISHER: During the April 2005 event at PIR, the No. 25 GMAC Chevrolet paced the field for 50 laps before finishing fifth, marking Vickers' first career top-five finish in the NEXTEL Cup Series.

CHASSIS 295 FOR '25': Lance McGrew, crew chief of the No. 25 GMAC Chevrolets, has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 295 for this weekend's NEXTEL Cup festivities at Phoenix. The team utilized the same car to compete in both the April and November events at PIR last season. Saturday night's race will mark its first action of 2006.

HENDRICK AT PHOENIX: Car owner Rick Hendrick has earned two victories at Phoenix, each coming in a No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet and each with a different driver. More than a decade before Kyle Busch won there in November 2005, Terry Labonte took the checkered flag at PIR on Oct. 29, 1994.

BRIAN VICKERS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 GMAC CHEVROLETS: (IS THERE SOMETHING KEEPING THE GMAC RACING TEAM FROM CONTENDING FOR TOP-10 FINISHES RIGHT NOW?) "Early on, I think we've struggled with consistency. We came out of the box at Daytona and ran very well and then things kind of slipped away from us for a couple of races. We've been caught up in accidents that we have no control over and then had a problem with an engine at Texas. If we're to get things turned around, we're going to need to be more consistent."

VICKERS: (IS PHOENIX A PLACE YOU AND THE TEAM CAN START TO BUILD THAT CONSISTENCY?) "Phoenix has been a good track for me. We always seem to qualify well there and that helps to get the weekend started on the right foot. Last year we led a bunch of laps in the spring race and I feel like it's a place that suits my driving style. If we can avoid beating ourselves, I can see us getting a good finish and moving on to Talladega, a place where Hendrick cars are always competitive."

VICKERS: (HOW MUCH CAN YOU TAKE FROM LAST WEEK'S TEST AT RICHMOND AND APPLY IT TO PHOENIX?) "With the testing schedule the way it is now, you really need to get the most out of every test. I think Richmond is going to serve as a good lead-in for the Phoenix race. We've been going through a learning process with setups and that's taken some time, but I feel good about how we ran during the last day of the Richmond test. Phoenix is flatter and bigger than Richmond, but relevant. I think we're going to have the option to apply some of what we learned more closely than if we were testing at a track like Lowe's Motor Speedway for two days."