Brian Vickers will be the first to admit that he has missed out on a lot of fun in his young life.

He missed his high school prom; wasn't able to join his buddies when it came to "chasing girls," as he puts it; and while many of his former high school classmates are in their sophomore or junior year of college now, he decided to go to work, so to speak.

Rather, Vickers stayed focused on becoming a professional race car driver. Since he climbed into his first go-kart at the age of 8, his mindset has been on only one thing: to race with the big boys of Winston Cup.

"My desire and my focus are very intense," Vickers said. "This is all I've ever wanted to do in my life, it's all I've ever wanted to be. This is everything to me. When I got focused on this, I blocked everything else out."

And now it's payoff time for all the sacrifices Vickers made during his teen years. Two days after turning 20 (on Friday), he will embark upon a full-time career as a Winston Cup driver in Sunday's Bass Pro Shops/MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"Right now, I'm just trying to take it all in," Vickers said. "I'm very excited about this opportunity, what Rick and Ricky (team owners Rick and son Ricky Hendrick) have done for me with this deal, the sponsors we have and the opportunity I've been given to drive these last four races. I have to thank all of them, obviously. It's going to be very exciting, very challenging and difficult, as well."

Vickers replaces Joe Nemechek in the No. 25 Chevrolet owned by Hendrick Motorsports. Nemechek has landed nicely on his feet, making his debut this weekend in his new ride, driving the No. 01 Pontiac for injured driver Jerry Nadeau, a deal that will see Nemechek remain in the car for the entire 2004 season, as well.

Yet it is Vickers who will be getting much of the spotlight this weekend. He passed David Green after last week's race to take over the lead in the standings for the Busch Series championship, and now will bring his much touted talents to Winston Cup on a full-time basis.

	Brian Vickers already has tasted success this year in the Busch series.

The outstanding promise and young talent that Vickers brings to the No. 25 team is further enhanced by the high-profile organization he's racing for and the other three drivers he'll call his new teammates, namely four-time Winston Cup champ Jeff Gordon, two-time Cup champ Terry Labonte and one of NASCAR's top so-called young guns, Jimmie Johnson.

"It means everything in the world to me," Vickers said. "Hendrick Motorsports has all the resources you could want, and then on top of that, you have drivers like Jeff, Terry and Jimmie all in one organization. Those resources are priceless to a young driver who is just starting to go through all the things they went through.

"And, they help you so much. All those things make for a perfect organization for a very young, aspiring driver trying to make it in the Winston Cup level."

With such a big-name supporting cast around him, you would think the normally cool and confident Vickers might be feeling a bit of nervousness. But that's just not the case, he says.

"No, I'm not really nervous," Vickers said. "I've never really been that type of person. It's not going to make things any better or worse if you do get nervous, that's just not the type of person I am. I mean, yes, every once in a while, I'll get a little anxious and my heartbeat will pick up a little bit when I go out to the (starting) line and you have to try to run 200 mph in qualifying. But, I'm just more than anything, thankful and excited about the opportunity."

Vickers was originally supposed to move to Winston Cup at the start of the 2005 season. But when Nemechek was told a few weeks ago that his contract would not be renewed for next season, and when MB2 Motorsports promptly offered him a deal to take over Nadeau's ride for the final four races of this season and all of 2004, it opened a spot for Vickers.

"We were going to wait until '05, but things went pretty well this year (in Busch) and the opportunity came along," Vickers said. "Everything just fell in line to be the right situation, and I was very fortunate that it all did fall in line, so that's why we went (to Winston Cup)."

Vickers comes to Atlanta -- and for the other three remaining races, for that matter -- with just one thing in mind: to qualify for each race and go from there. He has no lofty aspirations of winning, just doing the best he can and absorbing everything he's taught.

"The main thing right now is just seat time," Vickers said. "Rick and Ricky don't put pressure on you. That makes you want to do it even more and fine, and doesn't make you nervous or edgy about it. They just want me to go out there, just like I want to, to just get experience, to try and run every lap of every race and do the best you can.

"It's like racing in the Busch Series for me this year, going out and trying to run every lap of every race and trying to stay out of trouble. If you can do that, you'd be really surprised where it takes you. You have to be aggressive and take chances some times, but the real thing is to just be patient about it and be smart about it. You don't have to go out gung ho, wide open and think you have to be the fastest guy every lap. That's not going to win races, that's not going to win championships. The main thing in these last four races is just to get as much experience as possible."

Despite the maturity and talent he has displayed behind the wheel of the Hendrick-owned Busch car this season, the level-headed Vickers is more than prepared for any criticism that might be forthcoming about his being too young to compete in Winston Cup.

"We'll see here in about a year or two," he says with measured confidence. "If Rick or Ricky didn't feel like I was ready, or if the situation wasn't right, they wouldn't put me in the Cup car. I have great owners. They really care about my future as much as they care about the future of Hendrick Motorsports.

"Those two things really cross all the way up the line. Everybody grows up in a different way. There's nothing wrong with people who are 20 and act 15, and there's nothing wrong with people who just turn 20 and act like they're 30. That's life. People grow up in different ways.

"For me, I was fortunate to be able to grow up at a faster pace because of racing. My friends were all older, and because of the way my mother and father raised me, it gave me the opportunity to go do something like this at such a young age. I've experienced a lot of things along the way, and it's helped me grow faster. But I've got a lot to learn. I've learned just enough that I don't know anything. The older you get, you just get smarter and smarter."

Jerry Bonkowski covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Motorsportwriter@MSN.com.