Morning Wake-Up Call

Brian gave sleepy journalists a jumpstart in the media center Friday morning as the featured driver on the weekly “NEXTEL Wake-Up Call.” The moderator started with, “It was an uneventful win last year as I recall. Do you remember it like that?” – which got a big laugh from the crowd. Journalists drilled Brian on hot topics like “Are NASCAR’s qualifying procedures unfair for teams outside the Top 35?” (BV: Yes – the “go or go home” cars should all qualify one after the other instead of being mixed into the Top 35.) “How far do you think AJ has to go with his Cup driving ability?”(BV: AJ is a talented driver and successful in everything he’s driven. He’s new to ovals and new to Cup – two big learning curves that will take time. For all I know, he could make the race this weekend and win it!) “Do you think Toyota underestimated what it was up against coming in to the Cup Series?” (BV: No, they knew it was going to be a challenge. The biggest thing that’s hurting the Toyota teams is 50-some cars showing up every weekend.) - - The #83 hits the track 5th and the #84 in 51 for tomorrow’s qualifying run. Tune in at 11:15 AM (EST).