GMAC Racing Earns Weekend Off

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Sept. 11, 2003) – While the NASCAR Winston Cup Series travels to New Hampshire International Speedway for the running of the New England 300 on Sunday, NASCAR Busch Series teams will sit idle, enjoying a rare weekend off. For the GMAC Racing team, the break in the schedule is a welcomed one and much deserved -- especially after the month of August. Early in August at Indianapolis Raceway Park, Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 5 GMAC Financial Services Chevrolet, earned his first career Busch Series win in a race that will go down in the books as one of the best ever. For GMAC Racing, the victory lifted a huge weight off the team’s shoulders, only because they were so close to winning on several other occasions earlier this season. “We were close to winning so many times this season prior to IRP and were unable to close the deal until Indy,” Vickers said. “This team deserved to win so bad -- especially after the Pikes Peak race when we crashed out early. No one lost focus and we went to IRP probably with something to prove and to let everyone know we weren’t giving up. “People say the first win is the most difficult, and I think everyone on this team can attest to that. It just felt so good to win. I can’t put into words how good it felt.” Everyone involved with the team enjoyed winning so much that they did it again three races later at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, one of the most difficult tracks on the schedule. Vickers, 19, earned his second Busch Series victory in his 50th career start since joining the circuit two years ago. “It was a great day,” Vickers said. “The guys did an awesome job. They’ve done an awesome job all year, but they really came through when they needed to. The biggest thing was racing the track and not the other cars, and I believe we did that as a team.” With a point system that rewards consistency, the GMAC Racing team has been almost perfect during the last 13 races, earning 11 top-10 finishes and climbing to second-place in the championship standings, just 48 markers behind leader David Green after finishing fourth at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway last Friday night. The margin between first and fifth place in the standings (111 points) is the smallest in the history of the Busch Series with eight races remaining. “These are the type of championship battles you grow up watching on TV, wanting to be in,” Vickers said. “Now, to have the opportunity, it’s pretty exciting.” Busch Series teams will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 20 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, where the GMAC team finished fifth in May. Live coverage of the event will begin at 1 p.m. ET on TNT and MRN Radio.