NASCAR racing is in the midst of a youth movement, and the Busch Series' youngest and brightest stars are part of the Hendrick Motorsports stable.

The same race team that brought the racing world Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson is rolling out a pair of teens, Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch.

Vickers, the veteran of the two, hails from Thomasville, N.C. and won't turn 20 until six days after Saturday's Sam's Town 250 Busch Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park.

Busch, a Las Vegas native, turned 18 in May. He's running a limited Busch schedule this year, but as a sign of his impending stardom, his No. 87 ditech.com-sponsored Chevy will be sporting a special Universal Monsters paint scheme.

After Vickers graduates to the Nextel Cup next year, Busch takes over Vickers' ride in the No. 5 GMAC Chevy headed up by 23-year old owner Ricky Hendrick.

"It's been the opportunity of a lifetime for me," Vickers said. "My owner is close to my age. He just got out of the car a year ago. It makes for a good driver-owner relationship."

Hendrick, son of Hendrick Motorsports chief Rick Hendrick, was a Busch series regular until injuries ended his driving career. He picked Vickers as his replacement and the two have had nothing but success on the track.

"Nobody really knew what to expect (this year). We knew the team was there," Vickers said. "At Hendrick we have the equipment, the people, a great crew chief. It was just a matter of growing together as a team and getting chemistry."

That chemistry has produced three wins, 17 top-10 finishes and second place in the series points standings for Vickers.

Although it's his first full year in the Busch Series, Vickers has been racing at this level for parts of two other seasons. He credits his sudden rise to soaking up that atmosphere around the Hendrick shop.

"It's great to have the kind of people resources that Hendrick has," he said. "Having access to guys like Jeff Gordon, who's a three time Winston Cup champion; Terry Labonte, a two-time champion and Jimmie Johnson who's a great driver and my own car owner have done a lot to make the learning curve shorter."

Vickers is already starting to groom his replacement, Busch, for his time behind the wheel of the No. 5 car.

"He's a really good driver and I help when our schedules allow," Vickers said. "We'll get together now that I'm moving on to Cup and he's taking over the No. 5 ride. I'll try to make him feel comfortable working with (crew chief) Lance McGrew. I'll just help him become part of the 5 team."

Busch has been into racing since his older brother Kurt, a Winston Cup regular, got behind the wheel.

He's run in four Busch races this season in cars prepped by NEMCO Motorsports (a race shop owned by Hendrick driver Joe Nemechek). He's got two top-five finishes to his credit.

"Hendrick Motorsports has great cars and great people making the cars. It's great that the drivers know that they have what it takes to go fast and win races. I'm excited with the whole thing has come together."

February 2004 can't come soon enough for Busch.

"I can't wait. I'm going to be driving 34 races and doing exactly what I want to do," he said. "But I also know that the winter is going to go by before I know it.

"There's a lot to do before the winter is over. We're going to get my mom out to (Charlotte) from Las Vegas before next year. It was great growing up in Vegas, but Charlotte is race car central and it's exactly where I want to be."