HAMPTON, Ga. (Aug. 25, 2011) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran Brian Vickers visited the Georgia Aquarium on Thursday to promote the upcoming AdvoCare 500 night race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 4. While at the aquarium, Vickers, who is a certified diver, dove with the aquarium’s Whale Sharks, Groupers and other aquatic life.
“I’m here a little bit early for the Labor Day weekend, but it was a great opportunity to experience the Georgia Aquarium,” said Vickers. “I had no idea something like this existed in downtown Atlanta — the largest aquarium in the world. A lot of incredible species of fish here and sharks, but most importantly here to promote the Atlanta Labor Day weekend race. Three races. Incredible ticket prices. Lynyrd Skynyrd is playing and there’s always good racing at Atlanta, so we’re all looking forward to that. What the fans will most be interested in is the $39 tickets that are being sold and the $19 student tickets and always free parking.”
Vickers noted that while he enjoyed the dive and quenching his thirst for off-the-track excitement, he is very excited for the AdvoCare 500.
“It’s a fun visit to be here at the Georgia Aquarium,” said Vickers. “Good experience to be here at the Georgia Aquarium, but most importantly I’m excited about coming back next weekend for the Labor Day race at Atlanta. It’s one of my favorite race tracks and I think it’s one of the best races we have on the circuit. Incredible surface — the pavement surface is old, wore out, slick and very fast and it makes us really have to drive the cars from the top all the way down to the bottom.
“I love coming to Atlanta at night and just being in night races. There’s just something about the sparks flying in the lights and everything that make night racing good in my opinion.”
Known for his daredevil-like hobbies, shark diving was something that had not been previously thought of. Unaware that such a large aquarium existed in the middle of downtown Atlanta, it was an opportunity that he couldn’t refuse.
“It’s interesting,” said Vickers. “Diving with whale sharks in downtown Atlanta was not on the list, but when presented with the opportunity it quickly become top of the list. Not only is this one of my favorite race tracks to race at, but having an opportunity to come here and swim in a tank like this with these kind of fish, with whale sharks and many other sharks along with a lot of other fish, species of fish, it’s something that quickly moved up the list. So you never know what’s next.”
In his career at AMS, Vickers has recorded one top-five and seven top-ten finishes, finishing in the top-ten in 50 percent of his starts at the 1.54-mile speedway.
NASCAR night racing returns to Atlanta Motor Speedway this Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-4. Tickets for the AdvoCare 500 start at $39 and $19 for students. Children 12 and under admitted free for the Great Clips 300 and the Atlanta 200 with an adult ticket. For more information, call the Atlanta Motor Speedway Ticket Office at (877) 9-AMS-TIX, (770) 946-4211 or visit http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/.
