Vickers is looking for a new ride

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Vern Demerest

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Vickers gets permission to begin new job search

By Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press
June 8, 2006


CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Brian Vickers got permission from Hendrick Motorsports to look for a new ride.

"Brian came to us recently and expressed his desire to explore opportunities outside our organization," Hendrick spokesman Jesse Essex said Thursday. "Although he is under contract, we have given him permission to do so."

Car owner Rick Hendrick has been committed to the 22-year-old Vickers, and recently gave him a multiyear extension that had not been previously announced. That contract will run through 2009.

So it's unclear why Vickers now wants to leave one of NASCAR's super-teams. Hendrick also fields cars for four-time series champion Jeff Gordon -- whom Vickers is close friends with -- points leader Jimmie Johnson, and 21-year-old hotshot Kyle Busch.

But Vickers has not had success in his two-plus seasons at the Nextel Cup level. While Busch scored two victories during last year's rookie season, Vickers and his No. 25 team are winless with only 17 top 10 finishes in 90 career Cup starts.

Johnson, Gordon and Busch are all ranked in the top 10 of the points standings, but Vickers is a distant 26th.

Essex said the driver was traveling to Sunday's race at Pocono Raceway and not available to comment. It's possible that Vickers may be trying to capitalize on NASCAR's current shortage of available drivers.

Robert Yates Racing has its top seat, the No. 88 Ford, open because Dale Jarrett is leaving at the end of the season and Toyota is still looking for drivers to fill its inaugural 2007 roster. But Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick signed long-term extensions to stay with their current teams, and Casey Mears has repeatedly claimed he wants to work out a deal to remain at Chip Ganassi Racing.

vickers.johnson.193.jpg
Brian Vickers chats with teammate Jimmie Johnson. Credit: Autostock

It's left few top-name drivers on the market. Although Vickers doesn't really fit into that group, his upside is tremendous: He's young, marketable and has the potential for a long and productive career -- all things current NASCAR teams want in a driver.

At 19, Vickers was hand-picked by the late Ricky Hendrick to join the organization near the end of 2002, when Ricky was given control of a Busch Series team. Vickers went on to win the Busch championship in 2003, and was promoted to the Nextel Cup series the next season.

Despite his youth, Vickers has been around the NASCAR garage a long time. A native of Trinity, N.C., he grew up with Terry Labonte and Kyle Petty's children, and set his sights on a racing career.

He skipped his prom in 2002 to compete in a race at Bristol, and he nearly missed his high school graduation because he was racing that weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
 
Stupid!

Vickers would be stupid if he left a team like Hendrick. Maybe he just needs to go back to the Busch series. Just my opinion. LETS GO RACIN!!
 
He just might be the shine'n light in one of those riceburners... That might be what is on his mind.
Betsy
 
why would he be stupid? He's driving the 25 car...the only car at Hendrick motorsports that has not consitantly won races in the past 10 years.....(i know the 5 car hasnt really won a ton...but they are running good)

i think its a smart move to get out of that car....i like Mears but im not sure i can pull for him in the 25...so i hope to god he doesnt go to Hendrick.
 
There is more to this than being said.
Vickers is not and has not been producing despite the efforts of a solid team.
Vickers has had good equipment but not performed. The only thing announced self-proposed job search has to do with is performance, performance, performance, and lack thereof. Period.
 
From Jayski's

Vickers looking to get out of contract? UPDATE: Hearing that Brian Vickers, driver of the #25 GMAC Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports is now looking to get out of his contract with Hendrick after the 2006 season.(6-7-2006)
UPDATE: Hendrick Motorsports has given driver Brian Vickers permission to seek a ride elsewhere in racing. Hendrick spokesman Jesse Essex said Thursday that the driver of the team's #25 GMAC Chevy in the Nextel Cup Series had asked team officials for permission to pursue "employment opportunities outside our operation." Essex said "multiple years" remain on Vickers' contract at Hendrick.
AND rumors have Vickers going to the #88 Robert Yates Racing ride or one of the Red Bull Racing rides.(6-8-2006)
 
that 25 team has a missing link. Vickers is a busch champion, we know he can drive. It's hendrick organization, unless vickers gets all the spare 'trash' cars, we know it itsn't the engine or car. Lance McGrew is the only factor left...
 
Magnethead said:
that 25 team has a missing link. Vickers is a busch champion, we know he can drive. It's hendrick organization, unless vickers gets all the spare 'trash' cars, we know it itsn't the engine or car. Lance McGrew is the only factor left...
Click to expand...

Put Jimmie in that car for a weekend, it WILL win. Don't gimme that Busch Champion stuff. Just because he was a champ doesn't mean he can run with the big dogs. There were plenty of guys that were good in Busch but failed in cup. Steve Grissim, Chad little, Randy Lajoy to name a few.
 
In fact, isn't Bobby Labonte the "ONLY" Busch Champion to also win a Cup title?

To add another name to your tried and failed list, is Jeff Green. My God, he ranaway by over 600 points to his team mate in second place in Busch and has only flopped like a fish out of water in Cup.
 
valid points. We're starting to sound like marty, newt, an rodman from NOL on here.
 
The one thing that remains in my memory is that car has never, never since the late Tim Richmond drove it, did anything worth a crap. The car has had numerous drivers, numerous sponsors and all with the same result. Hendrick has a reputation of fielding great cars, but it's never been so with that car...NEVER! And you can say all you want about putting Jimmie Johnson in that car, with the same crew, he isn't going to win either.

As for Busch champs not winning at the Cup level, IMHO, few of them have had a shot in a good competitive car. Randy Lajoie...in a Bill Davis car. Many wins from those teams. Grissom drove for Larry Hedrick. About the most memorable moment for that team was when Ricky Craven was driving it and had that horrible wreck. Chad Little never won a Busch Championship, but was runner up when Johnny Benson did, but since both went to Cup after that, and that both of them drove for Jack Roush, one would assume that they were in quality cars then. Neither of them won and along with Ted Musgrave, they left the teams which are now winning teams, all of them. As for Jeff Green, again, the cars that he spent years in Cup were mostly back markers. What about the 31? It wasn't until Jeff Burton got into that car that it's been anywhere near good with the exception of one race while Robby Gordon was driving it. BTW, if the fact that Jeff Burton is now doing so well in that car, why wasn't he doing any good in the 99? The rookie who took over in that car made the "Chase".

Some cars a good, some drivers are good, but unless you team the two of them together, it just ain't gonna happen.
 
Bucky Badger said:
Put Jimmie in that car for a weekend, it WILL win. Don't gimme that Busch Champion stuff. Just because he was a champ doesn't mean he can run with the big dogs. There were plenty of guys that were good in Busch but failed in cup. Steve Grissim, Chad little, Randy Lajoy to name a few.
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umm it is the car Brian is a true champion at heart and he just gets the leftover HMS crap if Ricky were still here he would have at least a few wins and he would be doing great im sure Ricky is doing backflips in his grave as we speak

Took out the name calling, Kat
 
ccjmfan19, I believe you could have said what you did without calling someone a dumbass.
 
Here's my take on the whole thing: Vickers is going shopping for the best opportunity he can find. Toyota is out there dangling a carrot. Rides are available in the Red Bull operation, Yates is out there looking for a driver in the 88, and Mikey is rumored to have another car that will run, depending on what Bill Elliot does. IMO the 88 would be a huge mistake, Yates is restructuring or being absorbed by Jack, so i can't see that being any better than the 25 ride, actually i think it would be a step down. So, that leaves Toyota, money talks and BS walks as they say. I really don't think Vickers likes Kyle Busch (surprise!..lol), that has a lot to do with his decision i believe. The opportunity to be the #1 driver on another team such as Red Bull would be a great step in the right direction for Vickers.
 
Benson has a cup win. Not with Rousch, however. Rockingham 2002.
 
ccjmfan19 said:
umm it is the car Brian is a true champion at heart and he just gets the leftover HMS crap if Ricky were still here he would have at least a few wins and he would be doing great im sure Ricky is doing backflips in his grave as we speak

Took out the name calling, Kat
Click to expand...

I'm glad to see you work at HMS and see that Brian gets the leftover crap......And Ricky isn't doing backflips....He's rolling in his grave.
 
buckaroo said:
The one thing that remains in my memory is that car has never, never since the late Tim Richmond drove it, did anything worth a crap. The car has had numerous drivers, numerous sponsors and all with the same result. Hendrick has a reputation of fielding great cars, but it's never been so with that car...NEVER! And you can say all you want about putting Jimmie Johnson in that car, with the same crew, he isn't going to win either.

As for Busch champs not winning at the Cup level, IMHO, few of them have had a shot in a good competitive car. Randy Lajoie...in a Bill Davis car. Many wins from those teams. Grissom drove for Larry Hedrick. About the most memorable moment for that team was when Ricky Craven was driving it and had that horrible wreck. Chad Little never won a Busch Championship, but was runner up when Johnny Benson did, but since both went to Cup after that, and that both of them drove for Jack Roush, one would assume that they were in quality cars then. Neither of them won and along with Ted Musgrave, they left the teams which are now winning teams, all of them. As for Jeff Green, again, the cars that he spent years in Cup were mostly back markers. What about the 31? It wasn't until Jeff Burton got into that car that it's been anywhere near good with the exception of one race while Robby Gordon was driving it. BTW, if the fact that Jeff Burton is now doing so well in that car, why wasn't he doing any good in the 99? The rookie who took over in that car made the "Chase".

Some cars a good, some drivers are good, but unless you team the two of them together, it just ain't gonna happen.
Click to expand...

I think Jimmy would still win in that car. Jeff Burton has 17 wins in the 99 car. As for as the few drivers that are with winning teams...Yeah with the trucks. Far different than the cup series. Put them back in cup and get back to me.
 
UPDATE 2: There's been speculation that Vickers might drive a Toyota for Team Red Bull next season. Team Red Bull general manager Marty Gaunt indicated in an e-mail that there's no deal yet with any driver. "Frankly, it is flattering to have this much interest in our new program, but the reality is that the driver search is still very open right now," Gaunt said.(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)(6-9-2006)

Vickers Interview: Brian Vickers was in Somerset making an appearance for the Somerset Patriots minor league baseball team, Mike Ashmore of the Hunterdon County Democrat asked Vickers some questions:
About Toyota coming into the sport: "I think it's great. The more support we have from the more manufacturers, the better. It's irrelevant who it is. With NASCAR, I guess one of the rules is they have to produce the cars they race in Cup in America, which Toyota does. Those are the requirements, that they make most of their cars in America. You've got Chevy, Ford, Dodge and now Toyota, and it's only going to bring more attention to the sport. If more want to come, I think it'll be even better."
About backlash from the NASCAR fanbase about Toyota's foreign roots: "There's no way to predict that, but I don't think so. You look in the parking lot at a race or anywhere else, and there's cars from every manufacturer. There's always been a lot of support in NASCAR from the big three manufacturers, and everybody's always going to respect that. But the fact is, Toyota employs a lot of people here, and if they want to be here, they deserve to be here."
About Red Bull and Yates Rumors: "Who we've talked to is private. We're in the process right now...the only thing that's going on is Hendrick Motorsports and I are trying to figure out what we're going to do, and right now it looks like we're both going to look at other options next year for the betterment of both of us."
About a hot commodity: "It could potentially be a good position. Right now, we're focused on handling this thing the best we can with Hendrick Motorsports and we're looking at other options. What we decide to do is going to be held private until the time is right, and then we'll announce it."(Hunterdon County Democrat/Mike Ashmore)(6-9-2006)
 
buckaroo said:
The one thing that remains in my memory is that car has never, never since the late Tim Richmond drove it, did anything worth a crap. The car has had numerous drivers, numerous sponsors and all with the same result. Hendrick has a reputation of fielding great cars, but it's never been so with that car...NEVER! And you can say all you want about putting Jimmie Johnson in that car, with the same crew, he isn't going to win either.

As for Busch champs not winning at the Cup level, IMHO, few of them have had a shot in a good competitive car. Randy Lajoie...in a Bill Davis car. Many wins from those teams. Grissom drove for Larry Hedrick. About the most memorable moment for that team was when Ricky Craven was driving it and had that horrible wreck. Chad Little never won a Busch Championship, but was runner up when Johnny Benson did, but since both went to Cup after that, and that both of them drove for Jack Roush, one would assume that they were in quality cars then. Neither of them won and along with Ted Musgrave, they left the teams which are now winning teams, all of them. As for Jeff Green, again, the cars that he spent years in Cup were mostly back markers. What about the 31? It wasn't until Jeff Burton got into that car that it's been anywhere near good with the exception of one race while Robby Gordon was driving it. BTW, if the fact that Jeff Burton is now doing so well in that car, why wasn't he doing any good in the 99? The rookie who took over in that car made the "Chase".

Some cars a good, some drivers are good, but unless you team the two of them together, it just ain't gonna happen.
Click to expand...

i gotta agree with you here......even if you put JJ or JG in this car..its not going to win....it has a long history at HMS as being the worst car.....they have had numerous drivers and crew chiefs and for some reason this team cant buy a win...makes no sense to me...ive always thought this was was the HMS R&D car.
 
Something else to consider. Hendrick was not the force behind Vickers leaving. He signed him thru 2009 with a contract extension that was not publicized but Vickers then asked for his realese to look.
 
Kiss of death for Vickers was when he joined the club of losers known as Inside Nextel Cup Racing. Where talk is more important than driving skill. IMO :growl:
 
buckaroo said:
The one thing that remains in my memory is that car has never, never since the late Tim Richmond drove it, did anything worth a crap. The car has had numerous drivers, numerous sponsors and all with the same result. Hendrick has a reputation of fielding great cars, but it's never been so with that car...NEVER! And you can say all you want about putting Jimmie Johnson in that car, with the same crew, he isn't going to win either.

As for Busch champs not winning at the Cup level, IMHO, few of them have had a shot in a good competitive car. Randy Lajoie...in a Bill Davis car. Many wins from those teams. Grissom drove for Larry Hedrick. About the most memorable moment for that team was when Ricky Craven was driving it and had that horrible wreck. Chad Little never won a Busch Championship, but was runner up when Johnny Benson did, but since both went to Cup after that, and that both of them drove for Jack Roush, one would assume that they were in quality cars then. Neither of them won and along with Ted Musgrave, they left the teams which are now winning teams, all of them. As for Jeff Green, again, the cars that he spent years in Cup were mostly back markers. What about the 31? It wasn't until Jeff Burton got into that car that it's been anywhere near good with the exception of one race while Robby Gordon was driving it. BTW, if the fact that Jeff Burton is now doing so well in that car, why wasn't he doing any good in the 99? The rookie who took over in that car made the "Chase".

Some cars a good, some drivers are good, but unless you team the two of them together, it just ain't gonna happen.
Click to expand...
I guess I'm confused here, are the STILL running the same equipment, built by the same people etc. as the #25 team used in the 80's & 90's?

Yes it is proven fact that in the 80's & 90's multi car teams did have R&D teams, there was nothing wrong with that. The equipment was pretty good stuff, got drivers seat time and exposure but were not expected to win. But I think in the past few years owners have done all they can to equalize their teams because that is how they're getting the best results.

It is rumored that Ted Musgrave left Roush because he was only an R&D driver in the #16 car and not allowed to beat the "Chosen" #1 (#6) & #2 (#99) teams for the organization. IMO that very well could've been true, BUT...... are you trying to tell me that the #16 is still an R&D team?
If I'm not mistaken Kevin LePage took over the #16, but that team was shut down and renumbered as the #17 when Matt & Robbie came on board, and has not only won races, but has a Championship. After Johnny Benson in the #26 Chad Little took over and they renumbered it to the #97, since then Kurt Busch took over the team and has won races and a championship. So the 2 R&D teams have won more races and 2 Championships in the past 4 years than the 2 main Roush teams.

I don't believe the #25 is a R&D team for HMS anymore, it may have been in the 80's & 90's. IMO to think that just because the #25 team was once used as R&D that is still so, is nothing but an antiquated thinking.
I think Brians personality just does not fit in at HMS, just as in the final few years of Terry's career his personality was drifting further from what it took to fit in there.
 
bumpzter said:
Kiss of death for Vickers was when he joined the club of losers known as Inside Nextel Cup Racing. Where talk is more important than driving skill. IMO :growl:
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Ok ...now that is just a strange statement, how is this relevant to anything we are talking about? You are lumping Vickers and everyone else that appears on INCR with drivers that do not perform, think about what you just wrote here....so very not true. :rolleyes:
 
I actually meant it as a bit of a joke. But maybe he wants to be a talker more than a driver. And in no way do I lump drivers who are occasional guests on that show in with the regulars. OK?

I have the same feeling about other NASCAR shows where 'experts' who have never amounted to anything constantly criticize everyone else.
 
Inside NEXTEL Cup is the longest running NASCAR program on the network, so we have been very careful in considering any changes," said Chris Long, SPEED Channel VP of Studio production. "Allen, Michael, Johnny and Ken have been doing this show for nearly 10 years and there certainly is a comfort level and chemistry between all four of them and the television audience. However, we felt it was the appropriate time to update the panel and rededicate the show to delivering a true insider's view of each race," Long added.
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In adding Vickers, Long hopes to offer Inside NEXTEL Cup viewers fresh perspective from the next generation of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup drivers. "I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the new format for the program," Vickers said. "I've enjoyed the show in the past and look forward to finding my own unique role with Dave and the cast to provide an additional perspective to the viewers."
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Article from 8/05 on Speed changing INC
 
Eagle, no, I don't believe that the R&D teams of yesteryear are still R&D teams today. But one thing that is obvious is that something is amiss with the #25 team and it isn't new. As for the Roush teams, I do think that Jack stepped the process up and pretty much tried to make all the teams equal, and it shows today. However, in that vein, it also shows that chemistry has a lot to do with it as the #99 team has shown. There was a time when Jeff Burton, driving that #99 car was thought to be the next "Champ", but it wasn't to be. All I was trying to say is that it doesn't matter who is driving, or who is wrenching the car, the whole deal has to be taken into consideration, and when it comes to the #25 team, nothing has been good since Richmond. Now you may believe that today's #25 team is a top team and while they have all the nuts and bolts in line to be a championship team, I don't agree with you. And, if you don't think that Rick has a good relationship with Brian, I don't agree with that either. I think that there are other things involved here and Brian believes that he is being held back for one reason or another. He has always been used to winning as most if not all the Cup drivers were when they began their Cup carreer, and maybe that's his problem. If Brian doesn't find a ride in the future, it'll be his own fault and I am sure he will take the blame.
 
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