Brian Vickers has a bit of a love affair with Martinsville Speedway. He came to the track as a child with his father. His very first stock car race was on the venerable half-mile oval when he was a teenager.
And since he began his NASCAR Sprint Cup comeback in the spring of 2012 after a medical leave for a serious health issue, Martinsville is the track where he has consistently shined. In his three Martinsville starts since his return Vickers’ average starting position is 3.6 and he has an average finish of 12.3.
Vickers’ comeback took on storybook proportions Sunday when he won his first Sprint Cup event since being sidelined with life-threatening blood clots in 2012. To help celebrate that win and his affinity for Martinsville Speedway, the track is offering a special $55 Brian Vickers Package.
For $55, Vickers’ car number, fans can get a ticket in the Bill France Tower for the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 on October 27 and a Pre-Race Track Pass, which allows admission to the front stretch on Sunday morning. The Pre-Race Track Pass gives fans the opportunity to get a close look of what happens along pit road on race morning.
Vickers’ history runs deep at Martinsville. He grew up about an hour from Martinsville and traveled to the track as a young boy with his dad, Clyde Vickers, and his racing parts company.
“I grew up coming here as a kid watching races,” Vickers said last spring prior to the STP® Gas Booster™ 500. “I would stand down in the corners and watch the race and watch the train go by (above the backstretch). As a kid I thought it was really cool to watch the trains go by.”
His first career stock car race came at Martinsville in the Allison Legacy Series, a scaled-down version of Sprint Cup cars. Vickers has 16 Sprint Cup starts at Martinsville and three top-10 finishes. But he has been especially strong here since he returned in 2012. In those three races he started 6th, 2nd and 3rd. He recorded finishes of 18, 8 and 11, but had chances to win at least two of the races.
“This has always been a special place for me whether it was watching as a fan, running my first stock car race here, running Late Models and now the Cup Series,” said Vickers. “The tradition here is amazing. I’d love to get a trophy (grandfather clock). I don’t have one of those yet. We’ve lead laps. We need to get a clock. “
Martinsville Speedway PR
