Brian Vickers has one top-10 finish at Fontana. Credit: Autostock

Brian Vickers Mailbag: Finding a balance

Brian Vickers led 21 laps and finished seventh in last Sunday's Daytona 500. This week, he heads to California Speedway, where he finished third to Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Busch in September.

I was wondering what effect the changes in testing will have on your team? -- 24kay38, Parts Unknown

	VICKERS' MAILBAG Brian Vickers will answer fans' questions each week on NASCAR.COM.  •   To post a question, click here

"It means teams are going to spend more money in other areas to make up for not being able to go to the racetracks as often. Teams will spend more money back at the shops with computer simulators, wind tunnels and different things. Basically, less time will be spent at the track and more money at home.

"I don't think the new testing rules will save teams money. We have a budget and we're going to spend it. Now, we'll just spend even more money trying to make up for not being able to go to the track as often."

Who is your favorite comedian if you have one? -- Jill, Parts Unknown

"Dave Chappelle is good and so is Jeff Foxworthy. I don't watch enough stand-up comedy to really have a hard-core favorite. I'm a little more familiar with comedic actors like Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn. Dumb and Dumber with Jim Carrey is on my list of favorite movies."

I read somewhere that you had a 4.43 GPA (which i find truly incredible) so my question is, how did ya manage your high school education and racing on the side? -- becca24rulz, Parts Unknown

"It wasn't easy, I enjoyed school and I loved racing ... so I wanted to be able to balance the two. I loved racing enough that I had to do well in school because I couldn't race if I didn't have good grades. That was the rule set forth by my parents.

"School and racing went hand-in-hand. I had to do a lot of homework on the road. The last couple of years of high school, having a home-school teacher like Ms. Martin was a big benefit to me in being able to juggle the two."

In a race like last Sunday's where tempers are flying, and NASCAR is handing out black flags like candy, how does a driver remain calm and convince himself that it's not worth it to get angry? -- Chris, Parts Unknown

"It's not always easy. On the same hand it's very situational with a lot of variables involved. It depends on what was done, how mad you are and who the driver is.

"You ultimately have to make the decision on whether it can be let go, get them back another time or if you feel it needs to be addressed immediately. Each driver is different though, and I may or may not handle something in the same manner as another driver."

What do you think was the reason for the absence of "The Big One." Was it Mike Helton's warning about aggressive driving or do you think the drivers have become more disciplined at the plate tracks? -- Matt, Virginia

"It was a combination of both. I think everyone did a good job at keeping cool and, for the most part, everyone was aggressive when they needed to be, with the exception of a few.

"With the fact it was the Daytona 500 as opposed to the Budweiser Shootout and points were on the line -- that also helped to keep everything in check.

"Mr. Helton's words also had something to do with it. What surprised me was how quickly the field really seemed to go single-file. For whatever reason, the tires went away fast and you didn't have enough grip to run three-wide for 10 laps, so there really probably weren't as many opportunities for The Big One."