Picture and Information from: BrianVickers.com

How would you summarize your first season with Red Bull Racing and Toyota?
Plenty of highs and lows – most were expected, but some were avoidable.

What are you driving on the street these days and do you have a big personal car collection?
I have a Lexus GS450h hybrid that’s my daily driver and I also own a ’66 427 Corvette Stingray that I take out once in awhile when I’m home. As far as collecting cars, I steer my time and investments in other areas. I do have a racecar collection, including a replica of my No. 5 Busch championship car, one of my original rookie No. 42 Busch racecars, the Phantom go-kart that I won some of my WKA championships with, and a No. 83 Red Bull Camry in our lobby.

Name a memorable highlight of something you’ve done away from the track for Red Bull?
Well, one of the most recent things that would probably rank right up there was my first solo skydive with the Red Bull Air Force during Speedweeks. I went through what they call an “accelerated free fall” class with their expert sky divers so I could go solo on my first jump. When they originally asked, the plan was to do a tandem jump but I just wasn’t into having some dude strapped to my back. So with the RBAF’s guidance, we went up, jumped and I was able to pull the chute successfully – and even land on my feet. I hope to do some more jumps in the future.

Which style of Red Bull do you prefer and how many do you drink a day?
Regular, and it depends on what I’m doing, but probably an average of 1-2.

Can you comment on your goals and expectations for the 2008 season?
First, we wanted to qualify and finish as well as possible to position ourselves so that the Top 35 rule was a non-issue and we could focus on being competitive with the other top teams. Now that we’ve been able to accomplish that, I feel like we should see a steady improvement in our performances. Unfortunately, the 84 team has had some setbacks early this season and when either of the teams misses a race, it really makes Red Bull Racing a one-car team effectively, so you basically halve the notes and resources you have to work with. Red Bull Racing still has a long way to go to be on par with teams like Hendrick or Roush, but we’ve made very significant gains with the COT since the end of last season. I think aspiring to make the Top 12 (Chase) in ’08 is a lofty goal, but we are capable of finishing in the Top 15 and I’d like to believe we’ll put ourselves into a position to compete for some wins at some races this year.

What’s the rest of your plans and schedule in the Nationwide Series?
My company and Braun Racing put together a great partnership that’s allowed me to continue working with Trent Owens (crewchief) and their No. 32 team in 2008. We have 14 races confirmed on my schedule between sponsors ABF and Dollar General. Toyota has a great engine package for the Nationwide Series and I’m happy to be running a Camry there. Braun Racing is probably the most competitive “non-Cup” team in the series right now and we’ve led plenty of laps since last summer, so I think everyone’s expectations are to win some races this year.

Why is your souvenir trailer only scheduled to attend certain Cup races this season and why do you only make appearances there at certain events?
Unlike most other teams, Red Bull Racing owns and manages their own rig. And they also insist on offering fans unique and quality merchandise. But all of those things increase the cost factor and right now, the economics just don’t add up to have our rig at every race. Hopefully, as the team performs better and the demand for our gear increases, you’ll eventually see the Red Bull rig at every event. In the meantime, if you can’t make a race or attend one where the souvenir trailer isn’t, you can go to my official online store, the team site or PUMA’s site.

As far as my souvenir trailer appearances, a lot of that depends on many other scheduling factors. Red Bull Racing, Braun Racing or my company (BVLLC) may have sponsor or personal appearances scheduled for me, I could have competition meetings with my crewchief and engineers, or if I’m running the Nationwide race that weekend too, sometimes there is just physically not any time available in NASCAR’s track schedule to get out there and meet the fans. I try to get out there as often as reasonably possible and fans can see a listing of the races where I’m scheduled to appear on our website. If they ever have me scheduled to appear and I don’t, the only reason that would happen is a conflict occurred with a sponsor or competition matter, or I’m sick.