GT5 Transcripts/2011 Brian Vickers ♯83 Red Bull TOYOTA CAMRY '11

Toyota continues to fight its way to the top of the auto manufacturers competing in America's most popular racing series that has long been dominated by American heavyweights: Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford. One of the company's key drivers in helping to take Toyota to the top is North Carolina's Brian Vickers.

Vickers became the NASCAR Busch series champion in 2003 (the NASCAR series one step below its top Sprint Cup series) and was the youngest driver to ever win the title at age 20. At the time, he drove for one of the leading Chevrolet-based contenders, Hendrick Motorsports. But in 2006 there was some competitive friction between Vickers and his teammate Jimmie Johnson and, seeing an excellent opportunity, left the Hendrick squad to move to the all-new Toyota-powered Team Red Bull for 2007 as both the Japanese auto manufacturer and the energy drink giant entered the ranks of NASCAR. With Team Red Bull starting from scratch as a brand-new team, its inaugural year in NASCAR proved to be a difficult one.

However, fortune smiled on Vickers once again in 2009. The Red Bull Camry piloted by Vickers became one of the consistently fastest stock cars in the field, scoring numerous pole positions that year. He scored his first victory driving for Team Red Bull at the very fast Michigan Superspeedway.

Unfortunately, he missed much of the 2010 season when he was diagnosed with a blood ailment and had to sit out nearly the entire year. Thankfully, this NASCAR young gun has been medically cleared to compete for the 2011 season and is ready to make his mark in his return to stock car racing.