Red Bull.com

Driving has been in Brian Vickers’ blood for as long as he can remember. It started when he saved his pocket money to buy his first set of wheels, a yard kart, at 8 years old.

Growing up in stock car country, Brian took the traditional route to NASCAR unlike many drivers that arrive through open-wheel racing. He learned on the asphalt ovals of the Southeast, not the dirt tracks of the Midwest and certainly not the road courses of the world.

By 1999 he was named “Rising Star of the Year” by Motorsports magazine and in 2000 was the youngest feature winner at North Carolina’s famed Hickory Motor Speedway. By 19, Brian was a World Kart Racing Champion. But that wasn’t enough for the young driver; a year later he continued his upward climb moving into NASCAR.

Brian’s breakthrough in NASCAR was a hard fight but his early success caught the eye of late friend Ricky Hendrick. He was named the driver of Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 Nationwide machine for 2003 and wheeled it straight to the championship at age 20, becoming the youngest champion in NASCAR history. His big break would follow four months later when he won his first Sprint Cup race at Talladega. In June 2006, Brian was announced as the driver of Red Bull Racing Team’s No. 83 Toyota.

www.brianvickers.com