 | | Brian Vickers: "I like pizza, but I don't eat it very often." Credit: Autostock |
May 4, 2005
01:10 PM EDT (17:10 GMT)
Brian Vickers has as much potential as any driver currently in a team owner's development program -- and the fact that Vickers, 21, drives for Hendrick Motorsports is a powerful trump card for the Thomasville, N.C., pilot. During January's Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona, Vickers -- the 2003 NASCAR Busch Series champion -- sat down to answer 10 questions not specifically directed at his racing career. 1. What's your dream vehicle that you don't already own? A Corvette. Q: Why a Corvette? I don't know but I think it's because I always heard my dad talking about them when I was growing up. It's not really my dream vehicle, but it's his -- and I'd like to have it just so he could drive it. It just was always his car that he always wanted as a kid, was a Corvette. 2. If time on the road weren't an issue, what would be your ideal pet? The one that I have -- a cat, Caesar, because he's low maintenance. I don't have to take him outside and I can fill his food and water bowls up for two weeks and I don't have to be there, so it's perfect. 3. What's your biggest pet peeve driving on the road? Slow people driving in the left lane. Q: What would you do to them if you were behind them? I'd wreck 'em. 4. Racing means travel, so what is your worst hotel experience? Probably a hotel in South Carolina, where I couldn't distinguish the carpet from the roaches. Q: Wow. When was that? It was in the go-kart days, so it's been a while. It's been a long time. 5. What's your favorite food?  |  | | Vickers was fifth at Phoenix last month. Credit: Autostock |
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I don't know. What do I eat the most or what's my favorite? Q: What's your favorite? I like pizza, but I don't eat it very often. Q: Any particular kind of pizza? Just pepperoni pizza. 6. If you had to choose, would it be being honest or being nice? Honest. 7. What's your fondest childhood memory? I think Christmas. It would be the last Christmas with my whole family -- my grandfather on my dad's side, before he passed away; and my mom and dad; aunt and uncle; and my other grandparents and all that stuff. 8. What would be your dream date: Where and with whom? |  | 10 Questions | |
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My dream date? Where? Where? Ummm. Man, there are so many places. I like the beach atmosphere, so Saint Bart's is good. And who? I'm not sure. 9. Racing and pranks seem to go hand-in-hand, so what's the worst prank that you either perpetrated or had played on you? I've had some pretty bad ones. I think when we filled a buddy's car up -- we drilled out his headlights and put ether and a bunch of chemicals in the headlights and taped 'em back up. So when he turned the lights on it blew the hood and the trunk lid off. It exploded. Q: Was everything OK? Brian Vickers: It was a pretty bad fire. The car didn't survive, but he got out in time. 10. What would you consider your "Welcome to NASCAR moment?" |  | | Credit: Autostock |
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My welcome to NASCAR moment? More details. Q: Sort of like when you finally realized you had arrived in NASCAR. Was it screaming fans, winning a race? What was your official welcome into the sport? In the Busch Series, it was winning the championship. That was a big steppingstone in the NASCAR sport in general. In the Cup Series, I think it was my first race, racing with Jeff Gordon, because you just grew up watching Jeff for so many years. And (that was the case with) so many of the other drivers, in general, that you just get out there with, but Jeff in particular because right now he's the most established and the most successful driver still active in the sport. And you're sitting there racing beside him at 200 miles an hour, and it's like, 'OK, this is pretty cool.' | 
