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BUSCH: Darlington II: Brian Vickers preview

Brian Vickers Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â VICKERS ACCEPTED INTO THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS... Â Â While most 18 year olds are making their way to college campuses this week for the start of their freshman year, ...

Edited: Apr 16, 2008, 12:40 AM

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Brian Vickers

VICKERS ACCEPTED INTO THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS... While most 18 year olds are making their way to college campuses this week for the start of their freshman year, 18-year-old NASCAR Busch Series rookie driver Brian Vickers is still taking his S.A.T.'s (Surviving All Tracks). Vickers has competed in 12 of the season's 24 events to date, and every lap is still a learning experience. "It was kinda weird to wake up on Monday and know that my days of eating cafeteria food were over," Vickers said. "I am so excited to be able to focus all of my time and energy at the shop and on the track now. My goal is to get my racing grades up to the same level they were in school, but I know it is going to take time, hard licks and "trackwork" instead of homework. The great thing is, now I have 42 teachers out there to help me with my learning curve!"

SAME TEACHER, BETTER GRADES?: Vickers will bring the biggest red apple he can find to serve up to one of the greatest teachers on the NASCAR circuit this weekend when he re-enrolls for a class he barely passed last March. The recipient of the fruit will be an infamous 52-year-old "Lady in Black." Darlington doled out many lessons to the first year student in the spring semester. Vickers qualified 32nd and brought his humbled car to a 37th-place finish in a class of 43. "The Lady in Black is the one teacher that everyone has to get by to graduate," Vickers said. "I learned pretty quickly that focus, patience and luck are the keys to success at Darlington. I hope I can learn enough in my second trip here to move to the head of the class."

VICKERS ON DARLINGTON-- "I really love Darlington, because it has so much tradition and character -- it's definitely the most challenging track that I have been to so far. Our very first time here back in March we started 32nd and unfortunately got caught up in Larry Foyt's accident midway through the race. We finished in 37th place. My goal here will be to qualify well and finish the race in the top-15. You really have to baby the car here and never lose focus. The key is to race the TRACK every lap, if you get caught up in battling the car beside you it's easy to miss your marks and race yourself into a situation that you can't drive out of.

-bvr-

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