Brian Vickers heading to Charlotte

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine driver Brian Vickers has a busy schedule in the days leading up to Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Charlotte is a homecoming for most of the race teams based in the area and for Vickers as well. The Thomasville, N.C. native’s schedule this week includes Wednesday’s 9:30-10:30 a.m. autograph signing at the Michael Waltrip Racing Open House before driving to High Point, N.C. where he’ll play putt-putt golf to promote the Oct. 27 race at Martinsville Speedway.

Thursday morning he’ll visit a Charlotte elementary school to encourage literacy followed Friday with an appearance at Joe Gibbs Racing’s Fanfest. Throw in some media interviews and sponsor work and you have the ingredients of a busy week before turning a wheel in the Aaron’s Dream Machine or his Nationwide car.

VICKERS ON A HECTIC CHARLOTTE WEEK: “Sure it’s a busy time, but it’s also a lot of fun. The fans and partners do so much for everyone in this sport that whenever we get a chance to give back to the fans at things like MWR’s Open House or JGR’s Fanfest we want to do it. The partners like Aaron’s and Dollar General also come up with some pretty cool stuff all the time usually in support of a charity. It’s an honor to do events like that.”

RACING CHARLOTTE: “You might look at it and ask if we can keep our focus, but that’s not a problem. Racing is priority one and that will never change. Whether it’s signing autographs, playing putt putt or practicing the car, my focus is always going to be on getting our Aaron’s Dream Machine ready for Saturday night’s race. We had a very fast car Sunday in Kansas. I really believe I was going to win the race. But, we got caught up in a wreck and that killed our chances. I think we have a real shot here at Charlotte. MWR won this race last year with Clint (Bowyer) and Martin (Truex Jr.) has always been good on the 1.5-mile tracks. I know the guys on the No. 55 are going to Charlotte with the thought in mind that we are going to bring home the trophy.”

MWR OPEN HOUSE: Michael Waltrip Racing will hold an open house at its Cornelius, N.C. race shop on Wednesday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Fans may tour the shop, get autographs from MWR drivers and Miss Sprint Cup, enjoy sponsor displays, music, free food and drinks. MWR recently completed several capital improvements, including a new 7,500-square-foot training facility for its pit crews. Fans will be allowed access to the shop floor Wednesday for an up close view of the team’s Toyotas as it prepares for Saturday’s Chase for the Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. MWR is at 20310 Chartwell Center Drive off exit 28 on I-77 in Cornelius, N.C. about 15 miles north of Charlotte, N.C. The race shop is open to the public throughout the year.

VICKERS AT CHARLOTTE: Vickers owns two top-fives and three top-10 finishes in 14 starts. He has an average start of 18.3 and average finish of 22.9. His highest finish came in the 2007 and 2009 races in May when he finished fifth.

VICKERS AT MWR: In 21 races Vickers owns a victory, five top-fives, and 10 top-10s driving MWR’s No. 55 Toyota.

CAREER STATS: Vickers owns three Sprint Cup, three Nationwide and a Sprint Open victory. He’s led 1,189 laps in Sprint Cup competition. He’s won 11 Sprint Cup poles. Vickers has started 279 Sprint Cup races and 147 Nationwide. He is the 2003 Nation-wide Series Champion.

NO. 55 in 2014: Aaron’s, Inc. announced Aug. 13 it had reached a multi-year agreement to sponsor Vickers in the No. 55. Vickers has raced the No. 55 on a part-time basis the last two seasons for MWR posting several impressive performances including his third career victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 14. Beginning in 2014, he'll pilot the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine with a fresh new paint scheme. Aaron’s will sponsor each race during the length of the agreement.

MWR