Nemechek, Hendrick to part; Vickers to No. 25

CONCORD, N.C. -- Rising star Brian Vickers will replace Joe Nemechek in Hendrick Motorsports' No. 25 Chevrolets in 2004, the team announced Tuesday.

	Joe Nemechek

Vickers, the 19-year-old who won last weekend's NASCAR Busch Series race at Darlington Raceway, will move up with sponsor GMAC Financial Services. GMAC replaces current sponsor UAW-Delphi, which told the team earlier this year it would not be back next year as the team's major sponsor.

Nemechek, who joined Hendrick last year and won earlier this season at Richmond in the No. 25, will finish out this season in the car.

Meanwhile, Vickers' seat in the No. 5 Busch Series car will be taken by another teenager. Eighteen-year-old Kyle Busch, whom Hendrick signed in February, will move full-time into the Busch Series in 2004. He's currently driving selected Busch and ARCA races for Hendrick, in partnership, interestingly, with Nemechek's NEMCO Motorsports.

"Bringing this young man on board has been truly exciting," Hendrick said of Vickers. "Brian has proven that he has the tools to be successful, not only through on-track performance, but with his maturity and ability to handle himself in a way that represents our sponsors, our teams and our sport in a positive light.

	Brian Vickers

"There's no doubt in my mind that he's going to have a very long and productive career."

Vickers has won twice this season in the Busch Series and currently ranks third in the points standings with eight top-five and 15 top-10 finishes.

"The opportunity that Rick Hendrick and GMAC have offered me is tremendous," Vickers said. "My goal in coming to Hendrick Motorsports was to be competitive each week and race for championships. I'll continue to do that this year with GMAC in the Busch Series and look forward to moving to Cup with them in 2004. This is a dream come true for me."

Busch began his NASCAR career with Roush Racing, driving in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as a 16-year-old. But NASCAR raised the minimum age requirement to 18, and Busch was left on the outside. He ran in the ASA series in 2002 before Hendrick signed him to a multi-year deal.

"Kyle Busch is a talent," Ricky Hendrick said. "In a short amount of time, he's shown that he has the ability to go out and compete with the best this sport has to offer. It's going to be fun to watch him race every week with a championship-caliber team."

Busch, the younger brother of Winston Cup driver Kurt Busch, has won two ARCA races in five starts. In his first career Busch race in May, he finished second. Busch was also second to Vickers at Darlington.

"This is a great situation for a young driver like myself," Busch said. "It gives me the opportunity to come into the Busch Series full-time with an established team that can compete week in and week out. I can't thank the Hendrick organization enough for giving me the kind of support I need to be successful."

Busch is scheduled to make four more Busch Series and two more ARCA starts this season.

Hendrick is looking for sponsorship for the No. 5 team for 2004.