Brian Vickers and Aaron's Dream Machine heading to Dover

CORNELIUS, N.C. — When a new season begins at Daytona in February it will be interesting to see how many of the sport’s experts pick Brian Vickers as a favorite to secure a place in NASCAR’s 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Brian Vickers, Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota

Photo by: Action Sports Photography

In August, Michael Waltrip Racing and Aaron’s Inc. named Vickers the team’s fulltime driver beginning in 2014. He’s already taken over a majority of the driving duties in 2013 and showing why he’s a legitimate Chase contender next season. Only Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon’s four top-10 finishes exceed Vickers’ three top-10s in the last five races.

It continues a string of strong performances by Vickers and the No. 55 crew since joining together on a part time schedule last year. In 19 races with MWR over the last two seasons, Vickers owns a victory, five top-fives, and 10 top-10s. Mechanical failures while racing at the front of the field skew the numbers, but the No. 55 is often one of the best cars on the track.

Vickers’ plans to add to MWR’s recent success this weekend in the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. In June, Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin finished in the top 10 while Martin Truex raced in the top three before mechanical issues ended his race early.

VICKERS ON DOVER: “Dover is a fun track, it’s fast and you can move around a lot. It’s high-banked which makes it fun too. I think it’s a great track for our cars. MWR has historically run really well at Dover. The company has a pretty good setup and race package. We’ve been pretty good everywhere we have raced since I came over here. There’s a lot of hard work that goes into that back at the shop. Throw in some strong engines from TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and I’m confident we’ll have a good package for Dover.

“I think we had a winning car last weekend at New Hampshire. We had to start at the back on a track that’s as tough to pass as any on the schedule. We had a really good pit strategy. But a debris caution came just at the wrong time or I think we could have been up there trying to win again. Dover is a bit easier in that if you have a fast car you can get to the front. Obviously, our plan is to qualify up front and then stay there.”

VICKERS ON 2014: “Sure we plan to contend for the Chase in 2014. Everyone at MWR and Aaron’s believes we’ll be in it. We have the resources, expertise and backing from our partners that we need to win a championship. I’ll be disappointed with anything less than a Chase berth and a few more trips to victory lane.”

MWR