Brian Vickers and the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine team at Michael Waltrip Racing are getting a jump on the 2015 season testing the newly unveiled 2015 Toyota Camry this week at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.
After Tuesday and Wednesday’s Goodyear tire test, Vickers and team will travel to Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s 500-mile race on the 1.5-mile ultrafast oval in Fort Worth. The Thomasville, N.C. native finished fourth at Texas in April.
BRIAN VICKERS ON TESTING 2015 CAMRY IN CALIFORNIA: “It was good to get some time behind the wheel of the 2015 Camry (on Tuesday.) We brought a lot of engineers from MWR and Toyota Racing Development to Fontana to work on the car. I don’t know if you have ever been to a test, but it isn’t very exciting for a race car driver. I drive for a couple of laps, tell them what I feel, then the engineers will pour over the data, make some changes and back I go out on the track. We just repeat that throughout the day. It might not be as fun as racing but testing is where we learn what the Goodyear tires, our car and engine like and don’t like. I enjoy the science behind testing. The more you learn in testing the better you will be in the race. With the reduction in testing planned for next season, days like this are very valuable. So far I love what I see with the new Camry. It looks good, and drives good.”
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: “The thing that jumps out at you at Texas is how fast it is. The pole speed was over 195 mph in April and that’s on a 1.5-mile track. I heard a stat the other day that 21 of the 27 winners at Texas have come from drivers starting in the top 10. That means getting a good start is important so Friday’s qualifying has added emphasis. We won the pole there in 2006 and I’d sure like to get another one on Friday.”
MWR PR
