Conversation: Brian Vickers

Brian Vickers is young enough that one of life's realities struck him at the most inopportune time last week.

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Vickers, 20, was on the verge of celebrating his first Busch Series championship, as the youngest driver to ever win a NASCAR national touring title.

In the middle of all the media events and general mayhem last week, infected wisdom teeth cost Vickers most of his voice.

But showing a champion's grit, determination and aplomb, Vickers rasped his way though his rehearsals and other media responsibilities and nearly had a normal tone of voice at the ceremony.

In the hours before he received his Busch point fund check for nearly $1 million, Vickers talked with NASCAR.com's Dave Rodman to review his championship year, talk about the risk of burnout and discuss what he would do if he were President for a day.

Has the reality of winning this Busch Series championship sunk in yet?

	Credit: Autostock

Brian Vickers: Oh man -- not completely. Everybody keeps telling me that it will really sink in when I do this deal tonight (at the banquet) -- that that is when it will really happen. But every morning that I wake up, it gets better and better.

As the youngest national touring champion in NASCAR history and with Ricky Hendrick being the youngest champion owner, does the word "dynasty" every cross your minds?

Brian Vickers: I hope so, you know? I never really thought about it that way, but it's definitely something that we'd like to do. As Ricky and I have become friends and formed a great car owner and driver relationship, we hope we can carry this thing on for a great many years to come.

Your family made a lot of sacrifices in the early part of your career, to keep it going. It's only been a week, but what has the payoff been like for them?

Brian Vickers: It's meant a lot to them. I guess, really, it's meant more to me than it has to them, but I think they've enjoyed seeing the family name, in general, succeed. I can't thank them enough for what they did and what they gave up, for me.

You started the season with a thud at Daytona. How critical was the early part of the season?

	Vickers (left) with teammate Jeff Gordon Credit: Autostock

Brian Vickers: At the beginning of the year, we went to Daytona confident, but realistic, (because) after all, this was my first full season with the team and none of us really knew what to expect, especially me.

We finished 42nd there and left with more questions than answers, but we still had plenty of optimism. Looking on the bright side, we didn't have anywhere to go but up (but) I think the way we rebounded from that really set the tone for the remainder of the season.

From the beginning, our goals were simple -- finish every lap and try to stay out of trouble. If we did those things, we knew everything else would take care of itself.

Do you feel like your season had a critical moment?

Brian Vickers: The race at Texas was really the turning point for us as a team. Regardless of the outcome (being penalized for an improper pass on a restart, then getting into a wreck), we came away knowing that we could win. To be that close, just made us hungrier.

Race after race, we built more confidence and, eventually, we broke through to finally win, at IRP. Coming close so many times earlier in the season made winning that much more special.

	Vickers led the Busch Series in top-five finishes in 2003. Credit: Autostock

After that, people started taking us seriously and talking about us as championship contenders, but we never really paid any attention to all that -- maybe we didn't know any better? We never changed our goals and just tried to keep it simple.

You started racing at a young age, moved into the Busch Series the same way and now you've won a championship. As you move towards the Nextel Cup Series next year, do you ever fear the pace will never slow down? Is there a risk of burnout?

Brian Vickers: Man, I tell you what, I hope it never does slow down. I hope it keeps going and that it gets harder and harder, because I think that will mean that you're doing something right.

I tell you, the sport's changed in a lot of ways and you're not going to see drivers go as long as they have in the past, but hopefully we've got a couple more years left in us, anyway.

Sunday morning I walked through the Winston Cup garage at Homestead behind you and you were almost totally unnoticed. Is that something you think you'll miss someday?

	Vickers won at Darlington in the fall. He won three times in 2003. Credit: Autostock

Brian Vickers: I hope so. Like I said, I really hope so because that will mean that you're doing something right. You've got to be careful what you wish for, because sometimes you'll walk through there like that and wish you had the other thing (getting mobbed) and sometimes you'll think, "Man, I wish I could go back to those (quiet) days again," so I hope so because we'll be doing something right.

Describe the range of emotions you went through at Homestead -- not only on race day, but also after you crashed your primary car in testing.

Brian Vickers: It was really tough. With everything that happened, getting started like that and wrecking that car, I felt really bad about it. The team never gave up, though. They bore down and stuck behind me through the bad times and came out with a good one.

How much of an eye opener has attempting to compete in the Winston Cup Series been? Just how tough is the competition there?

Brian Vickers: It's very tough. The competition there is unbelievable, not just in the top-five, but all the way through 43rd. You can be back there in the 30s and you're racing with former Winston Cup champions. The guys that are racing in that series can go anywhere else and win races.

What do you feel like the biggest challenge will be in running a full Nextel Cup schedule next season?

2003 Busch Series  Driver Standings  Manufacturer Standings  Rookie Standings  Race Review  Best 25: Last 6 races  2003 Best Starts  2003 Best Finishes

Brian Vickers: Oh man, just the time management. Getting it all done while not burning yourself out and just trying to stay even-keeled about the whole deal because you're going to have ups and downs and you're going to be real busy in between. You just have to stay calm and keep digging.

The off-season isn't too lengthy. What's some of the fun stuff you're planning to do?

Brian Vickers: The least as possible.

Thinking outside the box for one last question. If Brian Vickers could be President of the United States for one day, what would you want to get accomplished?

Brian Vickers: What would I like to accomplish? I can't. There are so many things I would love to accomplish, I mean, anything I could do to make this country a better place, that's where I would start.

I would start by doing a lot of those things, but I would probably end by getting rid of the speed limits.