Brian
Vickers will replace the injured Denny Hamlin in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 11
FedEx Toyota, beginning on April 13 at Texas Motor Speedway.
The
team had previously announced that veteran Mark Martin would be behind the wheel
of the No. 11 Toyota while Hamlin recovers from a fractured L1 vertebra
suffered in a last-lap crash at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Cal. Last week. Martin
will still drive the car at Martinsville Speedway, with Vickers taking over the
duties beginning in Texas.
“Obviously,
having to find someone to fill in for Denny is not an ideal situation to have
to be in,” said JGR president J.D. Gibbs. “When you start a process like this,
you obviously begin to look at the drivers that are not only available, but
also able to drive for your race team and manufacturer. We were a bit premature
in determining Mark’s status past Martinsville, (but) we’re real happy to have
the opportunity to get Brian in our Cup cars. With him driving Nationwide for
us, we think we have some continuity there that is beneficial.
“We
really appreciate everyone at Michael Waltrip Racing and Toyota for working
with us through this process,” added Gibbs. “The good thing for us is that we
have drivers the caliber of Mark and Brian to help fill in until Denny comes
back.”
Vickers
is currently driving JGR’s No. 20 Dollar General Toyota in the NASCAR Nationwide
Series. He has recorded two Top-10 finishes through the first five races of the
season.
He has 264 career NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series starts over his 11-year career, with two wins, 24 Top-5 and
63 Top-10 finishes. He has one start this season, finishing eighth in at
Bristol Motor Speedway for MWR. Last season, Vickers made eight starts for MWR,
with three Top-5 and five Top-10 finishes.
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