Conversation: Brian Vickers

Brian Vickers is fast becoming a superstar in NASCAR, having won two of the last four Busch Series races to move into contention for the series championship.

And to think, he has not even reached his 20th birthday.

AUDIO CLIPS Listen to the conversation 1.26 kb / 9:07 Listen

But Vickers' youth clearly has not been a detriment this season, his first full-time effort in NASCAR. Driving for Hendrick Motorsports, Vickers has shown ability and maturity beyond his years.

Before the race at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR.com sent Lee Montgomery to talk with Vickers about life in the spotlight at age 19, about driving for Rick and Ricky Hendrick and about his future.

Q: OK, Brian Vickers, you used to be roommates with Jon Wood. First of all, how did you get hooked up with him? And how crazy was it with him because he's pretty nuts?

Brian Vickers: "Yeah, we had a pretty good time. Jon and I were like brothers growing up. We spent a lot of our time hanging out. We always raced the same series: go-karts, Legacy cars, Late Models, Hooters Cup, Busch and had a lot of fun. We moved in together and had an apartment in Greensboro. Whew, we had a lot of fun over there."

Q: You can't really tell me about some of the stuff, I don't guess.

	Credit: Autostock

Vickers: "No, I cannot. But it was good times. We've always raced together and had a good time."

Q: A lot of people talk about how mature you are. Where does that come from? Your parents? The way you were raised? Do you sometimes feel older than you are?

Vickers: "I think most of that comes from that. Racing, too. My parents are probably the biggest part of it, my independence and my maturity. A lot of my friends are in their late 20s, early 30s, a lot of my good friends. I guess it just kind of grew on me. Racing in general makes you grow up fast really fast because you have to be mature, or you can't race. When I was 13 racing, I was supposed to be 16. I had to act 16. It grows on you.

"I do feel that way a lot of times. That's just part of it I guess. I missed out on a lot of growing up, but I've been very fortunate. I'm where I want to be and doing what I want to do, so I love it. There's always ups and downs to this sport and how you get here and when you do get here. There's bad things and good things, and I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I'm fortunate, I'm having a good time, but it's not all the glamour and everything else everybody sees on the camera."

Q: You've got a lot on your shoulders, too, a lot of pressure. How are you able to maintain the maturity level? How do you handle the pressure?

Vickers: "Have fun when I can. I love racing from the bottom of my heart. There's nothing else I'd ever want to do, but when I'm not at racing, when I'm not at the race track, when I'm not doing PR stuff, when I'm not at the shop, I get as far away from it as possible. I don't think about it. I don't want to think about it. If somebody brings it up, I tell them not to talk to me about it when I'm on vacation or away from it. That helps me a lot, because this sport can run you in the ground real quick. It takes a lot of mentality, a strong mental attitude. You've got to be tough because it can be hard on you. Don't get me wrong: I love it and wouldn't want to be anywhere else, but you've got to know when to do something else. That helps the most."

BRIAN VICKERS  •  Driver Page  •  No kidding: Teenage mates rule Darlington  •  Young'n's have Hendrick locked, loaded for future  •  Conversation: Brian Vickers - 7|29|03

Q: In some ways, you've kind of made it look easy a little bit this year. Have you surprised yourself at all with your success, your performance?

Vickers: "Yeah, in a lot of ways I have. We've been very fortunate this year. We've had a good year. Then in other ways, no. And I say that because of the team I have, Hendrick Motorsports. I have an awesome opportunity with Ricky as my car owner, Rick as an associate or an advisor car owner. Being at Hendrick Motorsports in general, the facility, the resources we have, great sponsors in GMAC and Carquest, well-funded team, good crew chief, good crew. When you put all that together, then it doesn't look so unrealistic. At the beginning of the year, it didn't look so unrealistic.

"At the same time, we were all new together, the whole package, the new deal as far as being together. And it was my first full-time year. So in a lot of ways it was like, 'Wow. We've been fortunate this year.'"

Q: At 19 years old, you seem pretty fearless. Does anything intimidate you, scare you? Not just on the race track but in general?

Vickers: "What I'm scared of: That would probably have to be God. That'd probably be the biggest thing. And my dad and my mom when they're p***ed off."

Q: That's not a bad combination, I don't guess.

Vickers: "When your mom brings out the middle name, when the first and last name come out, 'Brian Vickers,' it's bad. But when the middle name comes out, you just better turn and go in the other direction because you are in trouble."

Q: When was the last time she brought out the middle name? Do you remember what you had done?

Vickers: "It's been a little while. I do actually remember what it was. It's been a couple years since she brought out the middle name -- and a couple other names. We were down at the lake, and we were out on the dock. We had a Shih Tzu since I was real little. She's an older dog, and she had a baby. She's like 15 now. She was a little bit younger then. But I thought she needed to learn how to swim. My mom didn't think she needed to learn how to swim, but I threw her in to see if she could swim. She didn't think that was real funny."

Q: I don't imagine the dog liked that a whole lot either.

Vickers: "No, not at all."

Q: You talked a little bit about this, about the "normal teen-age life." If there anything that you miss? Chasing girls or whatever? Are you a social kind of guy?

	Brian Vickers

Vickers: "In a lot of ways I am. I like my quiet time, but I do like people and friends and family. I don't regret anything. There are things I look back on and say, 'Why in the world did I do that?' Don't get me wrong. But I did it for a reason at the time, I suppose, and I learned from it. I made a lot of mistakes, I've done a lot of dumb things. But do I regret 'em? Probably not. Because if I wouldn't have done them then, I wouldn't know not to do them now. That's just part of learning.

"There are a lot of things I missed out on growing up, with friends and parties. A lot of times I wish I would have done it, but in a lot of ways I'm glad I didn't because it probably kept me out of trouble. Staying focused on racing and not chasing skirts every different direction and parties and all that other stuff. Don't take that wrong. I have a lot of respect for women. I guess at that age ... anyway, we're going on before I dig this hole deeper."

Q: We'll change the subject to racing a little bit, speaking of being focused. There were several races this year before IRP that you could've won. Obviously, Texas comes to mind. Did you think it would take as long as it did? We're kind of talking the opposite of what we were talking about a minute ago about how you made it look easy. Yet you didn't win until IRP. Was it anxious before finally winning?

Vickers: "Yeah, a little bit. That was my goal in life and this year, so I wanted it pretty bad. We've come so close so many times made me want it even more. Then to finally get that victory meant a whole lot, meant a whole lot to me, the team, the sponsors and everybody involved, Ricky and Rick. It was very soothing. I don't know how to say it. It was everything. It was awesome and nice and took weight off your shoulders. I could just go on. It was pretty awesome."

Q: That was kind of one of the questions I had. What's the feeling like when you get out of race car in Victory Lane and you stand up on the ledge, and everybody's cheering?

Vickers: "It's a pretty good feeling. To be honest with you, I can never describe it like it should be described. You just have to be there. It's just that exciting and means that much. I can never put it into words."

Q: Is it a little like adrenaline, that you've got that feeling and you know what it's like, and now you want it again and again and again?

Vickers: "Absolutely. You get a taste of it, and you want it more. That's part of it. We definitely want another win, and we want many more, hopefully. Right now, we've got to stay focused and continue to do what we do every week and continue to do what we did at IRP. When we go to that race track, everybody else has just as much of a shot at winning that race as we do when the weekend starts out, so we've got to keep that in mind and keep digging and don't give up."

Q: A lot of people are looking at you down the road, Winston Cup-wise. Do you have any kind of timetable in your mind? What do the Hendrick people tell you? Just stay patience and keep learning and keep digging?

Vickers: "Yeah. When that time comes, I don't know. I think Mr. Hendrick and Ricky know when the time is right, the managers and everybody involved in Hendrick Motorsports, and I'm going to leave it in their hands. Right now, I'm focused on this weekend, Darlington, S.C., and the NASCAR Busch Series, running for GMAC. That's what I'm focused on. When we go to Richmond, I'll be focused on that. We'll take it one step at a time. I have a lot of faith and trust in Mr. Hendrick and Ricky and leave it up to them."