CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine driver Brian Vickers grew up in Thomasville, N.C. about 140 miles from Darlington Raceway in South Carolina where the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races Saturday night.
Vickers said the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped track that opened in 1950 is as tough a challenge as any in modern day NASCAR. Last year’s pole speed of 181.918 mph is nearly 100 mph faster than Curtis Turner’s 82.034 mph pole in 1950. The second of Vickers’ three career Nationwide victories came on Aug. 30, 2003 at Darlington. The win aided in his series title that season.
Vickers arrives at Darlington after scoring top-10 finishes in three of the last four races and the fourth most points of any driver in those races. A two-tire strategy for the green-white-checkered finish moved Vickers from ninth to second and he held on for fourth at Texas. He’s scored the ninth-most points of any driver in 2014.
IS DARLINGTON STILL TOO TOUGH TO TAME? “Yeah I think it is. It got its reputation because you have to run so close to the wall. It’s so easy to get in trouble. I don’t think that has changed. It has new pavement, but if anything you run faster and you run just as close to the wall. The consequences are probably even greater. It is a track that if you get yourself caught up racing people too much you can very quickly get eaten up by the track. I think that’s why it has the reputation of “the track too tough to tame” and that hasn’t changed.”
VICKERS ON QUALIFYING: “Qualifying is tough everywhere. What’s going to be really tough at Darlington is whether NASCAR throws a caution when guys get into the wall. You know guys are going to scrape the wall. Obviously, if they full on wreck you will see a caution. But if NASCAR throws the caution for guys scraping then that’s going to mess up a lot of fast laps. They are going to have to come in, cool back down, go back on older tires. It’s going to be tough for NASCAR, it’s going to be tough for all of us but I’m sure it will be entertaining for the fans.”
SEASON SO FAR: “We’re getting better each week. The results have been good, but we know we can do better. It’s a good feeling. Our best stuff is ahead of us. We ran well and (crew chief) Billy (Scott) made a great call at Texas.”
NOTES:
· CHASSIS: Primary: 808 – has not raced. Backup: 801 – finished 13th at Las Vegas.
· LAST 4 RACES: Brian Vickers has scored the fourth most points of all drivers in the last four races. He owns three top-10 finishes in those races. Only Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards have scored more points.
· AARON’S: Aaron’s joined MWR in 2000 serving as a primary sponsor in Sprint Cup and Nationwide races. The Atlanta-based company has grown from 500 to 2,100 stores in that time. Aaron’s carries only the best brand names in furniture, electronics, appliances and computers and offers a variety of flexible payment options. It’s really easy to get started owning at Aaron’s – you are pre-approved for up to $2,500 in merchandise without needing credit. Visit Aarons.com for more information.
· MWR SPEED ROUND: Watch Brian Vickers and Crew Chief Billy Scott answer some off-beat questions during MWR’s Video Speed Round at www.michaelwaltrip.com. Click here to watch.
· AARON’S NEW COMMERCIAL: Watch Aaron’s new “Own It” commercial during Saturday night’s Fox broadcast from the race at Darlington Raceway. The commercial featuring Brian Vickers and Michael Waltrip began airing nationally last weekend during the Texas Motor Speedway race. Click here to watch.
· #ASKMWR: Throughout race weekends in 2014 MWR will collect questions hash-tagged #AskMWR on its @MWRteam Twitter handle. No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Jackman Wes Evans will host a 3-minute video each Wednesday on www.michaelwaltripracing.com featuring MWR experts answering the best fan questions from the weekend. Click here to watch.
· No. 55 CREW:
Billy Scott Crew Chief
Ryan Langley Front Tire Changer
Chris Hall Front Tire Carrier
Shannon Myers Rear Tire Changer
Blake Haugland Rear Tire Carrier
Wes Evans Jack Man
Jeff Kerr Gas Man
Steve Channing Car Chief
David Cropps Interior Mechanic
Roman Pemberton Spotter
Brandon Pope Race Engineer
Joe Bisson 2nd Engineer
Jeremy Sharpley Shock Specialist
Jacen Johns Front Mechanic
Joe Zanolini Rear Mechanic
Kevin White Tire Specialist
Denny Chandler Engine Tuner
Tim Bruce Engine Engineer
Glenn Shano Truck Driver
Al Nelson 2nd Truck Driver
· FANTERN: MWR is offering fans a chance to become an official MWR Fantern. This person will get the opportunity to be an “intern” on race day with MWR; duties including helping the pit crews with set-up activities, attending driver appearances and getting full access to the pit and garage areas. Fans can write in a submission to webmaster@michaelwaltrip.com or share a video on our social channels explaining why they should be the Fantern at the race of their choosing during the 2014 season.
