Brian Vickers finished ninth at Daytona in July 2004. Credit: Autostock

Brian Vickers Mailbag: Looking for the breaks

Third-year Nextel Cup Series driver Brian Vickers will answer questions from fans each week on NASCAR.COM. This week, he heads to Daytona, where he has one top-10 finish in four starts.

	VICKERS' MAILBAG Brian Vickers will answer fans' questions each week on NASCAR.COM.  •   To post a question, click here

Everyone has said this is the year you will get that elusive first win. Are you feeling any pressure to get that done? -- Katie, Orlando

The only pressure that's been put on me is that I place on myself. We kind of had a rough start in 2005, but we shook it off and got things back where they needed to be in the second half of the season and were actually one of the strongest teams as far as gaining points down the stretch.

That fact right there is a big confidence boost for this entire GMAC Racing team. I'm ready to pick up that first win. It just seemed like last season we couldn't get the breaks when we needed them. If we were in good shape something would always happen to us like a late caution or having a tire go down. There's going to be no excuses this year.

You're constantly saying how much your teammates, Jeff [Gordon] and Jimmie [Johnson] in particular, have helped you. What is the main thing that each of them has instilled in you so far, whether it be on or off the track? -- alh5597, Parts Unknown

Having Jeff, Jimmie and even Terry [Labonte] as teammates has been a big benefit to me. They've all helped me in so many different ways and provided me with good advice both on and off the track.

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At the Nextel Cup level, there are just so many things going on from the competition side, sponsor commitments, media requests and fan obligations. Jeff in particular, has given me guidance on how to balance everything associated with racing at this level and yet not to lose focus on the task at hand.

With that said, there are some things you can't prepare for without going through the experiences yourself. I'm very fortunate to be in the position I am at Hendrick Motorsports and have the support of some great people behind me.

I know that the NASCAR.COM guys give you a hard time because you have nice hair. I think it's just jealousy -- seriously -- have you seen Marty [Smith]'s hair? What do you enjoy most about being on Inside Nextel Cup on SPEED? Also, do you think you could help out Mikey with his hair? -- Kate, Parts Unknown

The show is a lot of fun. Kenny [Schrader] and Michael [Waltrip] have been on the show for a long time and bring with not only their experiences throughout their career, but also provide a fun atmosphere to work. I've learned a lot from them and Dave [Despain] already in the short time I've been able to participate with the show.

I was wondering with all the time you spend getting ready for the race season and during the race season do you ever get to have fun with your crew other then at the track? -- Amanda, Parts Unknown

I do have opportunities to have fun with the crew, but probably not as often as I would like, nor as often as the crew deserves. Just recently, we had a team party to kick off the season for all of the Nos. 5, 25 and 44 team members where we went bowling and played video games. It was a lot of fun and gave us with the chance to hang out together away from the track.

During the season, we try to get together every few weeks at the track and the guys on the team will come over to the motorcoach and we'll have dinner, hang out and watch some TV.