BRIAN VICKERS, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
How are you feeling after surgery in December?
“I’m feeling good considering everything. It’s amazing with everything that’s happened and how fast the recovery has been and how well I feel now relative to how I felt a month ago or two months ago much less.”
How are your chest and the wiring healing?
“It feels great. I had rehab, training – I’ve been kind of training quite a bit actually – and really just kind of pushing the boundaries every day of what I can do and kind of getting the chest healed and better and strengthened. I feel like I could be back in a car now, but they’re still going to make me wait a few weeks.”
Is it difficult to get back into racing shape?
“I think there’s a lot that people don’t realize – what you have to go through and the physical aspect of racing. I’ve been training a lot and as much as I can – as much as the doctors will let me – trying to get ready for the season. It matters. It does make a difference and it won’t stop once the season starts. I’ll keep going.”
Will you have an opportunity to get familiar with your Camry before the Las Vegas race?
“Vegas practice will be my first time in a car. Having done it now several times – been out for a while unfortunately and then had to jump back in the car cold – the last two times I was able to test before I raced, but just based on the testing I felt pretty up to speed real quick. I’ll only be a couple races behind this year on the rest of the field, so hopefully it won’t be too much.”
Do you still need any medical clearance before Las Vegas?
“No. I’m good to go. There’s no more doctors’ visits. They said, ‘Come March 5, go to the race track and have fun.”
What’s your role with the team during your recovery?
“Support the Aaron’s Dream Machine team really. That’s my job. I would love to be in that car and because I can’t be in that car – to be honest, I would rather not have to watch it because it’s tough. You want to be in the race car. At the same time, I feel so blessed to have an amazing team, an amazing group of guys that support me through so much and I want to be there for them. Am I going to contribute in any meaningful way? Probably not – they’re very good at what they do. They don’t need me on the pit box bugging them and obviously Michael Waltrip (team co-owner) is going to be in the car. He is a phenomenal speedway racer. I think maybe I’ll be able to help a little more in Atlanta with Brett (Moffitt, fill-in driver for Atlanta Motor Speedway). He’s a great driver with a good head on his shoulders, but less experience, so maybe I’ll be able to contribute a little more than there than here. Regardless, I want to be there for the team both weekends and support them the best I can.”
What has the reaction been like to your Xarelto commercial?
“It’s been incredible. That whole opportunity to partner with Jannsen (Pharmaceutical Companies) and raise awareness has been huge. For me, it’s a personal story for me, right? Not going to see a doctor – that’s kind of what a lot of it is about is if you think something is wrong, go see a doctor. That’s something I almost didn’t do and it almost cost me a lot. That’s not a mistake I’ve made twice. I only made that mistake once. It’s been fun and that commercial just runs all the time. It’s all over the place. I hear something about it all the time, but it turned out well.”
What does it mean to you to race at this level?
“It’s amazing. I think sometimes you forget how blessed we are to be in this sport and to be born in a great country to great parents and to have the opportunity to race cars. There’s only 43 and of the 43 there’s only so many that are here year in and year out and there’s seven billion people in the world, so it’s a true blessing and something I’m very thankful for especially with everything – the ins and outs and not knowing if I’d ever do it again – so I definitely have a deep appreciation for the opportunity.”
How did you develop your positive attitude?
“The positive attitude – the never give up – has always come from my parents. I’ve been fortunate to have great parents and family and friends that have supported me so much and my father really instilled a never give up attitude when I was very young. I don’t think he had any idea how much I was going to need it, but it’s paid off big time.”
