Casey Mears
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| Born | March 12, 1978 |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Bakersfield, California |
| Awards | 2006 24 Hours of Daytona overall co-winner |
| 2006 Sprint Cup position | 14th |
| Best cup position | 14th - 2006 |
| Statistics current as of September 22, 2007. | |
Casey Mears (born March 12, 1978 in Bakersfield, California) is a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver of the #07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. Mears decided to leave Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the 2008 season season to drive for RCR. He is the nephew of four time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears and the son of Indy and off-road veteran Roger Mears, and he competed in 3 ChampCar races in 2001 after Alex Zanardi was injured in a race in Germany. Next season mears will pilot the #07 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet sponsored by UPS [1]
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[edit] Before NASCAR
At the age of 4, Casey started his motorsports career racing BMX bicycles and ATVs in his birthplace of Bakersfield California. 9 years later, in 1991, Mears transitioned to go-kart racing and then the SuperLites Off-Road Series where he scored a couple top-3 finishes and looked to be a rising star.
He then began racing in the USAC Triple Crown Series, where he eventually won a race at Mesa Marin Raceway and finished third in points. In 1995, Casey went on to win his first USAC Championship.
A year later, Casey debuted in the Indy Lights Series in the Cleveland Grand Prix, where he would finish eighth. He continued his success in 1999, where Casey became the fourth driver to finish every lap in an entire season in the series. Mears scored two second place finishes and came in second place in the points at season's end, a mere 14 points from winning the championship.
In 2000, Casey won his first race in the Indy Lights Series, the Grand Prix of Houston. Later in the year, he was offered to drive a Team Rahal car in the CART series. He made his debut in CART, finished fourth, and led 10 laps.
In 2001, he made three starts in the Indy Racing League, but finished out the year behind the wheel in CART once again as he was filling in for the injured Alex Zacardi. Casey posted one top 10 finish in 4 starts.
[edit] NASCAR
[edit] 2002-2005
In 2002, Casey competed in the NASCAR Busch Series in the Phillips 66 Dodge owned by Wayne Jesel. His best finish of the season came at Talladega in the spring with a 5th place finish. That was one of only 2 top 10's he had all year.
In 2003, Chip Gannassi and Felix Sabates gave Casey a ride in the #41 Target Dodge, replacing Jimmy Spencer. His season had a best finish of 15th at Las Vegas and he totaled 10 DNFs.
The next year, in 2004, Casey recieved his first top 5 of his career in NASCAR's top level at Watkin's Glen with a 5th. He finished that year with 9 top 10s, which were 9 more than he had the previous year.
In 2005, Casey didn't have as much success until the final few races of the year where he had chances to win. At the inaugural Dickie's 500, Casey was in contention for the win, lead 23 laps and ended up with a 4th place finish. Then at the Ford 400, Casey was leading with a few laps to go when a caution came out and Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, and Matt Kenseth all caught him and passed him for the win. He led 75 laps all day, more than he had led in one race in his career. He ended up with a 5th place finish.
On August 11, 2005, two sources, on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that Reed Sorenson will replace Casey in the #41 Target Dodge for the 2006 NEXTEL Cup season. Mears would remain with Chip Ganassi Racing, but with the #42 team.
[edit] 2006
In 2006, Casey started off the year strong, with 3 straight top 10 finishes including a second in the season-opening Daytona 500. But he started to revert back to his old form of inconsistancy and dropped out of the top 10 in points. After not making the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup he settled for 14th in the points standings. Also in 2006, Casey recorded his first NASCAR win at Chicago at the USG Durock 300. He stretched his fuel tank more than his competitors and came out on top.
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At the end of 2006, though, Mears signed a contract with Hendrick Motorsports to drive the #25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet. It was then announced that he would be replaced by Juan Pablo Montoya, a former Formula 1 and CART driver.
[edit] 2007
Casey added arguably the most impressive win to his resume on January 29, 2007 when he, Scott Dixon, and Dan Wheldon teamed up to win the 44th annual Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona for Chip Ganassi racing. They set a race record for the Daytona Prototype category, running 723 laps in 24 hours to score the win. Casey became the first ever full-time NASCAR driver to win the Rolex 24.
After switching to Hendrick Motorsports in2007 to drive the #25 GMAC/National Guard Chevy, Casey stuggled to keep inside the top 35 in owners' points. In the first 10 races his best finish was a mere 10th at Bristol. But there were signs of improvement. At Talladega, Mears was among the front of the pack for most of the day, but during green-flag pit stops he was ran in the back of by Jimmie Johnson and crashed into the inside wall coming off turn 4 for a very hard crash that broke his HANS Device. A few races later, though, in the Coca-Cola 600 Casey ran in the top 10 for most of the day and as a result of attrition, found himself in the top 3 with 60 laps to go. While others couldn't make it to the end on fuel, he was. So while everyone pitted for gasoline, he saved fuel and won by a more than 10 second margin of victory.
[edit] 2008
In 2008, Casey will drive the #5 Carquest / Kelloggs Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports.
[edit] Teams
| Year(s) | Car # | Sponsor | Make | Team/Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-present | 33 | Cheerios/General Mills | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing |
| 2008 | 5 | Kellogg's | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 2007 | 25 | GMAC/National Gaurd | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 2003-2006 | 41 | Target | Dodge | Chip Ganassi Racing |
[edit] External links
- Official Website of Casey Mears
- NEXTEL Cup Driver Page at NASCAR.com
- Career statistics at Racing-Reference.info
- Casey Mears at Daytona 500 Racing
| Mears Family |
|---|
| Casey Mears | Roger Mears |
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