Brian Vickers returns to
Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend, the track where he made his NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series debut for Michael Waltrip Racing back in 2012.
And what a debut it was.
Vickers led 125 laps and
finished fifth that day; a successful start that carried through the remainder
of the season, with three Top-five and five Top-10 finishes in eight starts for
the Rodney Childers led team. Not surprisingly, MWR has penciled both Bristol
races onto the 29-year old Vickers’ nine-race schedule again this season, along
with Martinsville (2), Loudon (2), Sonoma, Watkins Glen and Kentucky.
Despite making his first start of the season
and his first ever in the new, Gen-6 racer, Vickers said he does not
feel like he will race at an advantage this weekend.
“I don’t think so,” said
Vickers, who scored more points (81) than any other driver at BMS last season. “I’ve
been racing at all these tracks for a decade and they don’t change that much in
a year. I’m going to be on all the tracks in the Nationwide Series this year.
I’m going to be in the 2013 Toyota Camry car some (and) probably going to test
it more, as well. I don’t think the differences between the old car and the new
car are so great that running it nine times versus 30 times is going to
matter.”
He said he will rely heavily on crew chief
Rodney Childers and the Aaron’s Dream Machine team to allow him to hit the
ground running.
“He is an integral
component to the team’s performance, the organization’s performance and my
performance,” said Vickers. “All that flows down from the top and he’s done a
phenomenal job. I’ve known Rodney for 20-plus years. He was the guy that got me
into go-karts, so working with him again has been a pleasure on two fronts.
One, he builds really good cars. And two, we have a great relationship.”
While happy with his performances with the
team last season, Vickers said he is hungry for more in 2013.
“I would have loved to
have won one of those races (last year) and we came very close. Obviously, (I’m)
very pleased with the results and how it all worked out, considering it was
part time. Personally, it was a phenomenal year. I got to race all over the
world. I got to run in races that my peers dream about running. They may never
get that chance because they’ll spend their whole career here.
“I came back, so it’s
clearly a good place to be. I love NASCAR, but to have the opportunity to run
those races all around the world was great. I would love to do it again one
day. Not any time soon, though. I still want to win a Sprint Cup championship,
but I would love to go back.”
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