Vickers to Cup in 2004 in the #25; Busch to the #5 car:

Hendrick Motorsports #5 Busch Series driver, Brian Vickers, is getting a bump up to Winston Cup. Vickers, 19, and his Busch Series sponsor, GMAC, will move to Hendrick Motorsports’ #25 Chevy next season, ThatsRacin.com has learned. An official announcement of Vickers’ move could come as soon as Tuesday afternoon. Vickers will replace Joe Nemechek, who has spent over a year in the car and won earlier this season at Richmond, Va. Nemechek is 23rd in points, with a win, one top-five and four top-10 finishes. He has also failed to finish six races. Following his win last weekend, Vickers moved into third in Busch points, just 67 behind leader Scott Riggs. He has won two of the past four races (Indianapolis and Darlington). Vickers’ move to Winston Cup will open his #5 Chevrolet ride in the Busch Series. Hendrick plans to move 18-year-old Kyle Busch into the ride next season, sources said. Busch, brother of Winston Cup standout Kurt Busch, has been running a combination schedule of Automobile Racing Club of America and Busch series races this season. He has two ARCA wins and two poles in five starts and has finished second twice in three Busch starts.(ThatsRacin.com), see the official releases at the Hendrick Motorsports site.(9-2-2003)