Vickers

It's been a few weeks since the questionable call made by NASCAR against myself and my GMAC team at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this month. At this point there's nothing that can be, nor will be done to rectify the situation.

I still disagree with NASCAR's decision, but I've managed to put it all behind me and I'm focused on winning races and being as competitive as I can be week in and week out. In light of the incident, I do believe there are a couple of good things which have come out of the situation.

The race in Texas showed a lot of people that didn't already know it, the capabilities of our team as we led almost 90 laps. Sure, we haven't won yet this season, but we've been competitive week in and week out and that was one of my goals coming into this season at Hendrick Motorsports.

I've only been at Hendrick Motorsports since December 2002, but this team has been together for a long time and that fact alone has helped us to get up to speed faster than normal. Maybe it's because I'm young and made only 25 Busch Series starts coming into the season that our team kind of went unnoticed when talking about the top teams in the Busch Series for 2003.

The guys on this team worked with Ricky (Hendrick) when he ran in the Truck and Busch Series. Instead of all the guys on the team and in the shop having to get used to one another, all they really have to worry about is working with me as a new driver.

A lot of the credit for this team's success needs to be directed at my car owner, Ricky Hendrick. Believe it or not, it was Ricky who helped put this group of guys together that I get the good fortune of being able to work with now. When Ricky was driving he had an active role in the decisions being made surrounding the team and it was Ricky who had a big part in bringing me to Hendrick Motorsports.

We had been friends on and off the track when he was driving, but it wasn't until the end of last season that Ricky called me and told me what was going on with the GMAC team. Eventually, he asked me if I wanted to drive the No. 5 GMAC Chevrolet this season -- which took me all of about one second to answer.

From a driver/owner standpoint, Ricky and I get along really well probably because we're so close in age. He's 23 and I'm 19 and it helps because he understands and can relate to what I'm going through, and will go through, as a driver because he's been there and done it.

I definitely listen to Ricky when he talks. He's been with the guys on this team for four years now -- knows their personalities, how they operate and provides me with input that you wouldn't normally expect to hear from a car owner.

It's hard to say if Ricky envisioned us performing like we have during the first eight races, but I hope he's happy with the results.

We've managed to work our way into the top 10 in points and it feels good, but we're not done, nor are we satisfied. Running like we have makes me hungrier for our first win. We led some laps at Nashville a couple of weeks ago -- maybe would have won if not for an untimely caution flag, but I know a win is just around corner.

As a driver, all I want to do is win races and be competitive and other drivers will tell you it's a great feeling to be able to show up to the track every week knowing you have the chance to run up front on a regular basis. Thanks to Hendrick Motorsports, I now have that opportunity.

Brian Vickers drives the No. 5 GMAC Financial Services Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Busch Series. He will be providing a monthly diary to ESPN.com throughout the 2003 NASCAR season. Vickers' personal Web site can be found at www.brianvickers.com or go to www.hendrickmotorsports.com for team information