 | | Brian Vickers: "I didn't come into this sport just to have a job. I didn't come here to ride around. I came here to win." Credit: Autostock |
By Marty Smith, NASCAR.COM
June 9, 2006
04:28 PM EDT (20:28 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. -- Brian Vickers' decision to leave Hendrick Motorsports following the 2006 Nextel Cup Series season is based solely on the mediocre performance of the No. 25 Chevrolet, Vickers told NASCAR.COM on Wednesday evening. "Basically it comes down to one thing: performance," Vickers said. "For whatever reason, and this is just as much my responsibility as it is anyone else's at Hendrick Motorsports, me and the 25 car have not performed to the standards we're capable. (Cup point standings) "Hendrick Motorsports has proven capable of winning championships and so have I, but not me and the 25 car together. So I feel it's best to start looking at other options." Vickers, the 2003 NASCAR Busch Series champion, would not divulge with whom he is speaking regarding future employment, saying all discussions will remain private until completed. Prodded about Red Bull/Toyota and/or Robert Yates Racing's No. 88, he balked. "I do not have a contract with anybody," Vickers said. "I'm going to look at all options. I'm not aware what rumors are out there, so I don't know what to tell you." Vickers did say this is the final year in his current contract with Hendrick Motorsports, and that until the end of the current season he is fully vested in the success of the GMAC Chevrolet. "I'd love nothing more than to win in the GMAC car," Vickers said. "That's what I was hired to do. That's what Ricky [Hendrick] expected of me." Vickers was hand-picked by Ricky Hendrick to succeed Hendrick in the No. 5 Busch Series car. He followed-through with a championship. Following a 25th-place points effort as a rookie in 2004, Vickers made several bids for Victory Lane last season, including a runner-up at Pocono and third-place run in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis. But this season has been quite disappointing, aside from a near-miss third-place effort at Talladega Superspeedway. What changed? "Performance, again, is bottom line," Vickers said. "At end of day this is a professional sport and requires a certain standard of performance. For whatever reason, that's not happening at the level they wanted, and I wanted." Not until "very recently" did Vickers begin having reservations about his status at HMS. "This is not something I've been contemplating for a long time," he explained. "Up until this point, and moving forward, it's about this 25 GMAC team. But at some point I had to make a decision for the best of everybody involved. We both mutually agreed we should look at other options." Asked whether excessive pressure coinciding with being a teammate to Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, as well as two-time winner Kyle Busch, was a factor in the decision, Vickers was adamant to the contrary. He said he was never subjected to undue pressure from sponsors or HMS executives. He simply feels it's time to move on. "It's a lot of pressure, but I put most of the pressure on myself," he said. "HMS is and always will be where my heart is, and I can't thank Rick and the Hendrick family enough. "It's an honor to work at such an awesome place. There are very high standards. With that comes pressure. But I didn't feel any more than what I put on myself, because I wanted to win. "I didn't come into this sport just to have a job. I didn't come here to ride around. I came here to win." Vickers wouldn't comment on speculation that Casey Mears was already slated as his replacement in the No. 25 car. "That's a question for Hendrick Motorsports," Vickers said. | 
