MARTINSVILLE, Va.—As an experienced sky diver, Brian Vickers could only marvel at the recent 24-mile jump of Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner.
Vickers, who drove in the Sprint Cup Series for Red Bull Racing, has more than a casual connection with Baumgartner, whose Red Bull Stratos program benefited from a collaboration with NASA. Baumgartner, who jumped from a helium balloon, set records for a parachute jump from the highest altitude and the greatest free-fall velocity (834 mph).
“I was jealous, except for when he went into that flat spin,” Vickers said. “I’ve done some stuff with Felix. He’s a great guy.
“I did a few jumps for my birthday (Oct. 24), which was a lot of fun. It went really well. I was actually going up in the plane, and I was thinking, ‘Wow, this seems high.’ But then I think to myself, ‘I guess it’s not so high anymore, after he jumped from there.'”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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