Brian Vickers No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine All-Star Race Preview

No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine driver Brian Vickers is one of 22 drivers who will battle in Saturday’s 30th running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Vickers earned his entry into the event by winning at New Hampshire in July.

Vickers might appreciate the chance to run in the All-Star race a little more than most. Blood clots sidelined him in 2010 just weeks before he was to make his third appearance in the main event All-Star weekend.

He hopes to better his third-place finish in 2005 and contend for the $1 million purse Sprint pays to the race winner Saturday night. This year the Showdown has moved to Friday night with the top two finishers and the fan vote winner advancing to Saturday’s All-Star Race. All-Star drivers will qualify at 7:10 p.m. Saturday before the 9:15 p.m. race.

ALL-STAR RACE: “I’m really looking forward to it. The last time I was supposed to be in the All-Star race I couldn’t be in the All-Star race because I was out sick unfortunately. It’s pretty exciting to be in the race this year — well, not there yet, made that mistake once. (laughing) Pretty exciting to plan to be in the race. I look forward to being a part of it.”

WHAT ALL-STAR RACE MEANS: “Obviously, this is a big deal. Sprint pays a lot of money to the winner, the folks at Charlotte Motor Speedway do it up right, our families and co-workers from the shop are in the stands and there will be a ton of people watching on Fox Sports 1. Some of the sport’s greatest moments came in this race.”

MWR PR