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Mears and New No. 5 Team | |
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NASCAR NEWS - Thursday, February 28, 2008
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Mears excited about quick bond with new No. 5 team
Driver says camaraderie with other teammates special
By Raygan Swan, NASCAR.COM
FONTANA, Calif. - Casey Mears is at times the overlooked
Hendrick Motorsports driver. Unlike his counterparts, media
doesn't swarm Mears in the NASCAR garage; his face isn't
plastered on billboards and your rarely see him on covers
of magazines.
But he doesn't mind; Mears is never envious of the
attention, however, their success is what he is
desperately trying to obtain.
"I think that those guys obviously have a lot of media
attention surrounding them which is well deserved in a
lot of aspects," Mears said. "I respect the fact that
they get that attention. I'm striving not to get that
attention but to get that success that breeds the
attention."
A Bakersfield, Calif., native, Mears is confident in his
own backyard -- his family is with him this weekend and
he loves West Coast racing.
On Sunday, this SoCal son wants to shine.
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In his sixth season, Mears has just one victory -- last
season's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. In nine
previous Cup starts at the Auto Club Speedway, he has
earned two top-10 finishes.
"I'm excited ... I think the equipment is there," he said.
The No. 5 [Mears] and No. 88 [Dale Earnhardt Jr.] side has
definitely stepped up and matched that of the No. 24 [Jeff
Gordon] and No. 48 [Jimmie Johnson]."
Mears is acclimating to yet another new crew chief, Alan
Gustafson, and a new team just as he did at the beginning
of last season with the No. 25 crew. But things are
different, he said, because the No. 5 team is established
and has a successful resume.
Mears is stepping into the same team that led Kyle Busch
to a victory, multiple top-10s and a spot in last season's
Chase for the Nextel Cup.
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"I'm in a very good position as opposed to last year,"
Mears said. "It was a great team, a great group of guys
that I had last year but we came in last minute and
changed the crew chief the week before Daytona. There
was just a lot of un-organization, we were building a
team."
Most times, driver-crew chief relationships can take an
entire season to build as the chemistry is often not
instant. However, Gustafson has given Mears a feeling
of continuity and stability almost immediately.
"I feel like he really understands what I'm needing and
what I'm wanting," Mears said. "We didn't have the Daytona
finish that we wanted, obviously, we made a move there
that didn't work out for us. But I'd been second there,
I've been in the top five, I'm not there to finish second
anymore, we're there to make a move to win."
With six laps to go, Mears was running third before he made
contact with Tony Stewart last weekend during the 50th
running of the Daytona 500.
Encouraged by his team's communication, Mears said he feels
far ahead of where he started last year partly because of
the new chemistry Earnhardt Jr. has brought to the team and
of course the continual support from Johnson and Gordon.
"To see all four drivers really interacting and working
well together, we didn't have that before. It was the same
idea, but it didn't seem like it went as smooth," Mears
said. "I just feel fortunate to have three guys that I
can really pull good information from and we can work
really well together as a team."
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Each Hendrick driver will check on each other's machines
throughout practice, gleaning and exchanging information
about handling. On the pit box, all four crew chiefs
exchange information on tire pressure changes and adjust-
ments. On the track, the four drivers form alliances the
put them in positions to win.
"You give your teammates that extra inch that you wouldn't
give another competitor," Mears said.
But when it comes down to winning the race, Mears said you
treat them like anyone else on the track.
Nevertheless, he characterizes the competition between his
teammates as healthy and likened it to a sibling rivalry.
"Obviously we all want to see each other succeed, but at
the same time I kind of view it as anybody whose got
brothers and sisters," Mears said. "You know you love your
brother or sister and you don't want to see them get hurt
and you don't want to damage them in anyway. But if you're
going to go race against them in a go kart at a local park
or something like that, you definitely don't want to be
the one that comes home in second because then you have
to deal with them all day long."
Mears said it is one of the sports best teams and will be
known historically for its camaraderie.
"It's just a lot of fun," he said. "I look at Jimmie
Johnson and I've known him since I was 12 years old. I
consider him one of my best friends in the world if racing
wasn't there so to have him as a teammate. Through him I
met Jeff and became great friends. I met Junior as soon as
I moved back to North Carolina about seven years ago. We're
not real close but very friendly obviously. We've been
buddies for a long time. We've got a very unique situation
over at Hendrick Motorsports right now and it's a lot of
fun."
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