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Inside Track

Aired October 24, 2003 - 13:13   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Stock car racing was born in the South, starting in the days of running moonshine. The sport has blossomed into a multibillion dollar industry, and it's popular not just in the South, but all over the country, from tracks in Las Vegas, to Chicago, to the Poconos in Pennsylvania. Millions of fans attend races every year and 10 times that watch at home every weekend.
NASCAR rolled into the Atlanta area today. And Kyra Phillips just had to check us out, joining us now track side.

Hey, Kyra, can you hear me at all with all those engines running out there?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: You know, I can sort of hear you, the engines running. You know, you were talking about the history of NASCAR. I don't think Brian Vickers would probably be able to go that far back. See, today, he just turned 20 years old. Happy birthday.

BRIAN VICKERS, WINSTON CUP DRIVER: Thank you so much. This is a very exciting weekend for me.

PHILLIPS: I'm just curious if you do win, you can't legally drink that champagne. What are you going to do?

VICKERS: I guess milk. I'll do the Indy style.

PHILLIPS: Got milk? Got Indy?

All right, well, let's talk about being one of the young guns. You're the youngest guy out here Brian. Is it ever intimidating to be surrounded by people like the Ken Schroeders (ph) and some of the older drivers?

VICKERS: No, not really. I've got a great opportunity. What Rick has given me here, GMAC, UAW Delphi. You know, the biggest thing is I think the other drivers look at it more as, who I am, how I act off and on the racetrack and how I handle myself. That's how they treat me, and that's how I treat them.

PHILLIPS: I've been talking to some older drivers, shall we say. You've got a really good reputation. They say, hey, there's some guys that come in here that got a lot of attitude for being a young buck, but they say that you're always the one asking, hey, what do you think of this? You're like a sponge, you absorb everything. What's keeping you humble?

VICKERS: My family and friends, by far, God, family and friends. I can't say enough of my mom and dad. They've done so much for me. And that's just it, I'm not like that, and I want to learn as much as I can and be competitive this season, and I'm not going to let them push me around, but I definitely want to respect them.

PHILLIPS: Well, in that note of respect, and your sweet spirit, I must say, you are very involved in the charities. A lot of the guys here very involved with charity. Talk to us about this children's camp that you're raising money for tomorrow.

VICKERS: It's a victory junction day in camp. They'll be doing a walk tomorrow after the Busch race. You can come here to the speedway and sign up. It's a great organization. A dear friend of mine that passed away, Adam Petty, was a strong supporter of it. I've always been ever since then. The Petty family is a great family. What they do for these terminally ill children is wonderful. The camp will open in June 2004. There's 28 of 36 buildings already completed. They do horseback riding, swimming, you know, all kinds of other sport, activities, and they bring in the best doctors all from around world to do research and to try help these children at the same time, so it's a great, great...

PHILLIPS: You'll be out here tomorrow and help raise money.

You know, you mentioned Adam Petty. He did pass away at a young age. As a matter of fact, I think he might have been your age.

Let's talk about the safety aspect. Over right here is where they're doing the inspections. OK, tell me why these are so important as these cars get ready to come up.

VICKERS: Well, these are so we don't cheat.

PHILLIPS: Oh.

VICKERS: But there is another inspection a lot more intense then this one for the safety, for the drivers. There's safety for the crews, the helmets. NASCAR has done such a good job stepping the level of the safety up in the sport. And you know, it's still a dangerous sport, but I commend them a lot on what they've done so far.

PHILLIPS: Well, as this car pulls up, Brian, tell me what they're going to checking for here.

VICKERS: Right now, we're going to be checking for wheel base. They're going to be checking for some heights and some different things that are going to help, if you're a little wind (ph), you're going to be faster. They want to keep these cars as competitive as possible.

PHILLIPS: On the safety aspect, you're 20 years old. Do you worry about that? Do you have fear when you're coming around those tight corners? Do you worry about any devices, and being locked in, like some of the other drivers do?

VICKERS: Not really. I don't know if it's the youth or what. I've always been that way. When I'm out there, I respect that car, I respect the speed. But I love it, it's something that just completes me. I feel at home in that race car. And if you're afraid of it, you're going to get more hurt being afraid of it than you are if you're not.

PHILLIPS: Brian Vickers, thanks for your time. I appreciate your time. Good luck this weekend.

VICKERS: Appreciate it. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: So, Heidi, as we continue in the next hour and a half, we'll be talking to a number of drivers, like Brian, not as young as Brian, some of the more experienced, like Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon, also Elliott Sadler, even got to strap in, good for a spin with Elliott. I've got to tell you, it's quite a feel.

COLLINS: When do we get to see that?

PHILLIPS: Give me about an hour, because there's a lot of editing we had to do to that tape, if you know what I mean.

COLLINS: I see. Why's that, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Hey, it's nothing like a fighter jet. I know you know that all too well.

COLLINS: I think we're seeing a little bit of it right now. Boy, that's very impressive. Did it feel tight? Did it feel loose? What did you think about the steering and everything on the track there, track temperature, you know?

PHILLIPS: All right, I can't hear you, Heidi, what did you say? Are you giving me a hard time?

COLLINS: No, I was just trying to pretend I knew a whole lot about NASCAR that I have just learned a few minutes ago.

PHILLIPS: I know you do. We'll tell you a lot about NASCAR in the next hour and a half, I can promise you that, and I'll take you behind the wheel and show you what it was like.

COLLINS: Very good. Look forward to it. Kyra Phillips, thanks so much. We'll check back a little bit later on.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Heidi.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired October 24, 2003 - 13:13   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Stock car racing was born in the South, starting in the days of running moonshine. The sport has blossomed into a multibillion dollar industry, and it's popular not just in the South, but all over the country, from tracks in Las Vegas, to Chicago, to the Poconos in Pennsylvania. Millions of fans attend races every year and 10 times that watch at home every weekend.
NASCAR rolled into the Atlanta area today. And Kyra Phillips just had to check us out, joining us now track side.

Hey, Kyra, can you hear me at all with all those engines running out there?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: You know, I can sort of hear you, the engines running. You know, you were talking about the history of NASCAR. I don't think Brian Vickers would probably be able to go that far back. See, today, he just turned 20 years old. Happy birthday.

BRIAN VICKERS, WINSTON CUP DRIVER: Thank you so much. This is a very exciting weekend for me.

PHILLIPS: I'm just curious if you do win, you can't legally drink that champagne. What are you going to do?

VICKERS: I guess milk. I'll do the Indy style.

PHILLIPS: Got milk? Got Indy?

All right, well, let's talk about being one of the young guns. You're the youngest guy out here Brian. Is it ever intimidating to be surrounded by people like the Ken Schroeders (ph) and some of the older drivers?

VICKERS: No, not really. I've got a great opportunity. What Rick has given me here, GMAC, UAW Delphi. You know, the biggest thing is I think the other drivers look at it more as, who I am, how I act off and on the racetrack and how I handle myself. That's how they treat me, and that's how I treat them.

PHILLIPS: I've been talking to some older drivers, shall we say. You've got a really good reputation. They say, hey, there's some guys that come in here that got a lot of attitude for being a young buck, but they say that you're always the one asking, hey, what do you think of this? You're like a sponge, you absorb everything. What's keeping you humble?

VICKERS: My family and friends, by far, God, family and friends. I can't say enough of my mom and dad. They've done so much for me. And that's just it, I'm not like that, and I want to learn as much as I can and be competitive this season, and I'm not going to let them push me around, but I definitely want to respect them.

PHILLIPS: Well, in that note of respect, and your sweet spirit, I must say, you are very involved in the charities. A lot of the guys here very involved with charity. Talk to us about this children's camp that you're raising money for tomorrow.

VICKERS: It's a victory junction day in camp. They'll be doing a walk tomorrow after the Busch race. You can come here to the speedway and sign up. It's a great organization. A dear friend of mine that passed away, Adam Petty, was a strong supporter of it. I've always been ever since then. The Petty family is a great family. What they do for these terminally ill children is wonderful. The camp will open in June 2004. There's 28 of 36 buildings already completed. They do horseback riding, swimming, you know, all kinds of other sport, activities, and they bring in the best doctors all from around world to do research and to try help these children at the same time, so it's a great, great...

PHILLIPS: You'll be out here tomorrow and help raise money.

You know, you mentioned Adam Petty. He did pass away at a young age. As a matter of fact, I think he might have been your age.

Let's talk about the safety aspect. Over right here is where they're doing the inspections. OK, tell me why these are so important as these cars get ready to come up.

VICKERS: Well, these are so we don't cheat.

PHILLIPS: Oh.

VICKERS: But there is another inspection a lot more intense then this one for the safety, for the drivers. There's safety for the crews, the helmets. NASCAR has done such a good job stepping the level of the safety up in the sport. And you know, it's still a dangerous sport, but I commend them a lot on what they've done so far.

PHILLIPS: Well, as this car pulls up, Brian, tell me what they're going to checking for here.

VICKERS: Right now, we're going to be checking for wheel base. They're going to be checking for some heights and some different things that are going to help, if you're a little wind (ph), you're going to be faster. They want to keep these cars as competitive as possible.

PHILLIPS: On the safety aspect, you're 20 years old. Do you worry about that? Do you have fear when you're coming around those tight corners? Do you worry about any devices, and being locked in, like some of the other drivers do?

VICKERS: Not really. I don't know if it's the youth or what. I've always been that way. When I'm out there, I respect that car, I respect the speed. But I love it, it's something that just completes me. I feel at home in that race car. And if you're afraid of it, you're going to get more hurt being afraid of it than you are if you're not.

PHILLIPS: Brian Vickers, thanks for your time. I appreciate your time. Good luck this weekend.

VICKERS: Appreciate it. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: So, Heidi, as we continue in the next hour and a half, we'll be talking to a number of drivers, like Brian, not as young as Brian, some of the more experienced, like Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon, also Elliott Sadler, even got to strap in, good for a spin with Elliott. I've got to tell you, it's quite a feel.

COLLINS: When do we get to see that?

PHILLIPS: Give me about an hour, because there's a lot of editing we had to do to that tape, if you know what I mean.

COLLINS: I see. Why's that, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Hey, it's nothing like a fighter jet. I know you know that all too well.

COLLINS: I think we're seeing a little bit of it right now. Boy, that's very impressive. Did it feel tight? Did it feel loose? What did you think about the steering and everything on the track there, track temperature, you know?

PHILLIPS: All right, I can't hear you, Heidi, what did you say? Are you giving me a hard time?

COLLINS: No, I was just trying to pretend I knew a whole lot about NASCAR that I have just learned a few minutes ago.

PHILLIPS: I know you do. We'll tell you a lot about NASCAR in the next hour and a half, I can promise you that, and I'll take you behind the wheel and show you what it was like.

COLLINS: Very good. Look forward to it. Kyra Phillips, thanks so much. We'll check back a little bit later on.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Heidi.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com