Diary: Learning so much from the Hendricks

Considering how quickly things have been moving for me career-wise, I realize more and more every day how fortunate I am for my relationship with Ricky and Rick (Hendrick). Ricky was the one that selected me to drive his Busch car in 2003. Rick had someone else in mind, but Ricky really stood up for me to get the job.

I'll always be grateful and appreciate the opportunity as long as I live. Without it, who knows what situation I'd be in right now. From day one, everyone has treated me like I was part of the family and it helps a driver's mindset. We finally got the deal done and I started driving for them, and really started becoming part of the family.

BRIAN VICKERS  •  Driver Page  •  Diary: First Daytona an experience to remember  •  Hangin' with Vickers on the set of TRL  •  Hendrick team not resting on laurels for '04

Rick has a lot of experience in this business, but the reason he's been so successful in racing, his businesses and in life, in general, is because of how good he is to people. He's a great boss who is smart and thinks ahead. But most importantly, he's got tremendous people skills.

Now, he's not going to let anybody run over him, trust me, and you don't want to get on his bad side. But when you're on his good side, he takes care of you. And Ricky's just like him. He's following right in his dad's footsteps.

Ricky's very, very smart, and if you get on his good side he takes care of you and will do anything for you, just like his dad. We've become really good friends, me and the entire Hendrick family, top-to-bottom. They're all such great people.

I've lived with Ricky in Charlotte for, probably, six months or more. He's become my closest friend right now. We've had a lot of fun together, and have been successful together at the racetrack, too. Now he's spotting for me on Sundays as well.

After my spotter in the Busch Series, Michael Landis, moved over to Evernham Motorsports after last season -- I needed to find someone to work with me in the Cup Series. I'll tell you what, a good spotter's hard to find and one of the most important people on the team.

Everybody's important, but the spotter's right up there at the top of the list. He has to be able to communicate with the driver. We couldn't really find anybody, and Ricky, accidentally I think, made the comment, "I'll do it." There went his weekends.

Michael Landis was an awesome spotter, and I've always been fortunate to have had good spotters. But I will have to say, Ricky is probably the best spotter I've ever had. He's definitely one of the best, if not the best, and as time goes by and the more experience he gets, he'll definitely be come the best.

	Vickers won the Busch Series title with the Hendricks in 2003. Credit: Autostock

I think there are several reasons for that. He's obviously raced before at this level, raced at these racetracks, so he knows what it takes and what to look for. He also knows this business and has been in the industry. He's watched racing for a long, long time and heard lots of spotters, good and bad, so he knows what to do and what not to do.

He's also very, very calm. He doesn't get riled up. His voice stays monotone, stays the same throughout the whole race no matter what happens on the track. That's big. You don't want your spotter running your heartbeat up because he's all excited.

The other thing I'm learning from the Hendricks is the business side of this sport. And with Ricky, one thing he's really taught me is, in this life, all you can do is just do the very best you can with the cards you're dealt. And he's taken those cards and done a great job with them.

He hasn't wasted anything. He's taken full advantage of it. And like I said, he's following right in his father's footsteps, as far as his successes are concerned, and what's made his dad successful - the kind of person he is and how kind he is to people.

He's learned so much on the business side, and he's teaching me a ton. He took his first dealership, the motorcycle deal, his to run and it was his to either run up or run straight in the ground, one or the other. He succeeded in turning a poor performing dealership into a very profitable dealership all on his own.

I'm proud of him, very proud. He's very intelligent, especially for his age, and he's taught me so much. He knows a lot about racing, too. He took control of his first race team in the NASCAR Busch Series, which was his team for three or four years prior, it was his little deal.

Ricky was the one who said who goes and who stays, what position everyone would be in and what they're going to do. He was in there a lot and at the racetrack on weekends watching over everything, like car owners should.

He really built that team. He had so much say in regards to the people on that team. He picked them, helped groom them. The guys on that Busch team - Lance (McGrew) and all those guys - are just awesome.

And he won a championship in his first year as a car owner. I don't think that's a coincidence. He's with our GMAC Cup team now because he did so well with the Busch team, and his father wanted him to get more experience. Plus he and I worked so well together that his father wanted to keep us together as a car owner/driver combination.

Obviously, I'm happy about that. I hope we're together for the rest of our careers.

Brian Vickers' Diary appears periodically on NASCAR.COM.