TALLADEGA, Ala.–Team owner Michael Waltrip hasn’t announced a driver for his No. 55 Toyota next year, but he wasn’t shy about naming the man he wants in the car–and it’s hardly a surprise.
Waltrip wants part-time driver Brian Vickers to take a full-time role in the car next season with Aaron’s as his sponsor.
“We’ve raced with Aaron’s for 14 years, and we hope that we can sign something that will put that deal together for the near-foreseeable future to come–three years or so,” Waltrip said Saturday during an interview session in the Talladega media center. “We’re working hard with Aaron’s. We’ve targeted Brian Vickers as the guy we want to drive our car.
“We think that Brian’s a future champion of the Cup series, so we want Brian to drive it, and we want Aaron’s to sponsor it… I think both Aaron’s and Brian are very into making that happen. It would just be a matter of getting the details worked out in order to be able to announce it soon.”
Vickers took on a part-time schedule in the No. 55 Camry last year. In 10 races with MWR, he has posted six top 10s. Mark Martin, the primary driver of the car, has announced plans to exit the car next year, opening the ride to a full-time driver.
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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