Auto Racing: Busch Series champ is driven to succeed

Brian Vickers is even being lumped into that footloose, fearless collection of up-and-coming guns who are said to be the future of stock car racing at the highest level.

Just the same, Vickers isn't immune to a throbbing wisdom tooth, which, to his credit, he seemed able to ignore Wednesday afternoon as long as he was talking about his racing roots and his success on the track.

"Luckily, this thing didn't jump up and bite me until the day after last weekend's Busch race," he joked while tenderly sipping warm soup and passing on anything crunchy.

It will be Friday night in Orlando that Vickers -- he wasn't able to wrap up his first Busch Series title until this past Saturday at the Homestead-Miami Speedway -- will be honored at the series' year-end awards banquet at the Portofino Bay Hotel.

The media tour stopped at the Tampa Marriott Westshore on Wednesday.

Vickers, a straight-A high school graduate who was home- schooled for three years, said the learning process this past season included a few things he even found out about himself.

"One thing I did figure out is that on the race track, I've got a real long fuse. I'm a pretty patient person. But when you get to the end of that fuse, there's a big bomb," said the driver of the No. 5 GMAC Financial Services Chevrolet owned by 23-year-old Ricky Hendrick.

"Most drivers will tell you that.

I race people the way they race me. I can take a lot. And I'll give it back. I'm a pretty calm, pretty rational guy. But push me long enough and it's going to be bad," Vickers added.

Raised in the heart of stock car heaven in North Carolina, Vickers said he grew up chasing drivers for autographs in the garage area. He began driving go-karts at the age of 8 after four or five years, began to work his way up through the late-model ranks.

At one time, he attended school with the likes of Adam Petty and Justin Labonte. Sometimes, it was Terry Labonte who drove them there.

Vickers was just 23 days past his 20th birthday when he seized his first Busch crown. That makes him the youngest champion in the history of NASCAR's three national series (Craftsman Truck, Busch and Cup). Bill Rexford (23 years, 8 months) was the previous youngest champ when he captured the 1950 NASCAR Grand National championship.

A race winner three times in 2003, Vickers ended up 14 points ahead of David Green in the second-closest championship finish in Busch Series history.

A resident of Thomasville, N.C., Vickers got the nod to take the wheel of the Hendricks Motorsports No. 25 Monte Carlo late in the Winston Cup Series. In five races, he had four top-four starts and a best finish of 13th at Phoenix.

Next year, he'll be teammates with Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte.

He's already had a taste of the competition at the next level.

"There is a big difference. They don't miss much. They're on top of it. They're on their game. They know all the little tricks," he said of the Cup vets. "They can make you loose. They can make you tight. They can pass you. They can wreck you and get by you without wrecking you. It's funny.

It's weird.

"I want to be myself. I'm going to go in there with an attitude.

That's not the kind of person I am," he added. "I'm not going to say it won't happen, but I'm not going to make some of the mistakes some of the recent rookies have, to say stuff I'm going to regret or treat people in ways I'm going to regret. I want to treat people with respect."

Ricky Hendrick -- son of longtime team owner Rick Hendrick -- and Vickers had raced against one another and grew up in the same region and with many of life's same lessons.

There were, however, things the car owner found out about the car driver once the green flags waved this past season.

"He's more competitive than I thought he would be. He's more aggressive than I thought he would be. He's a hard-charger," Hendrick said. "If you slap him on the shoulder, he's going to hit you in the shoulder. If you kick him in the feet, he's going to trip you. He's one of those guys. He's competitive no matter what it is.

"That's what drives him. That's what makes him such a good racecar driver. He's always on the edge, but at the same time, he knows when to say when. He knows the limits."