Mears Ties Career-Best Cup Finish at Kansas Speedway
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (October 1, 2006) --- Casey Mears and the Texaco/Havoline team knew they had a top-10 race car, but thanks to fuel mileage strategy the team brought home a second-place finish from Kansas Speedway. Mears tied his career-best NASCAR NEXTEL Cup finish set at the 2006 Daytona 500. "It was a good day for the Texaco/Havoline team," said Mears. "We had about an eighth or 12th-place car depending on what we'd do with the car chassis-wise. Donnie (crew chief Wingo) made a good call at the beginning of the last run. He told me to go ahead and save fuel in case it went green to the finish, and that's what happened. I'm proud of all the guys. They work hard all the time, and they deserved this. They don't deserve the finishes we've been having this year, they deserve better. I'm proud of everyone today." The team was disappointed after turning in a 33rd-place qualifying effort on Friday. Mears and the crew rallied on Saturday during practice, and finished the two sessions second and 15th on the time sheets. The green flag waved for the 267-lap event and Mears told Wingo the car was really loose. He passed two cars before the caution flag waved on lap nine. Mears brought the Texaco/Havoline Dodge down pit road for an air pressure adjustment, a trackbar adjustment and fuel. The team's quick stop put Mears in 28th for the restart on lap 13. Mears moved up to the 23rd position following the spin by the No. 12 car that also sent several other cars spinning into the infield grass. Mears' teammate Reed Sorenson brought out an additional yellow on lap 19 after he made contact with the wall that ended his team's day. After 10 laps of green-flag racing, Mears told Wingo the car was tighter. Mears was still able to wheel the Texaco/Havoline Dodge up to 15th by lap 41 and hold on to the position until the yellow flag waved on lap 58 for debris. Mears brought the No. 42 Dodge Charger down pit road on lap 60 for an air pressure adjustment, four tires and fuel. Unfortunately, the No. 45 car blocked Mears in his pit stall and the crew had to push him back to get out. The long stop dropped Mears back to 24th for the restart. Mears went on a tear over the next seven laps and was back up to 16th when the caution waved on lap 67. The first of the two long green-flag runs of the race began following the restart on lap 72. By lap 110, there were 30 cars on the lead lap with Mears sitting in 14th. Green-flag pit stops began on lap 121 and Wingo called Mears down pit road on lap 125. The caution flag fell just five laps later, but the team now had good data on its fuel mileage. With the Texaco/Havoline Dodge sitting in 19th, Wingo told Mears to bring the car to the pits for four tires and fuel. The green-flag dropped on lap 136 with Mears in 14th. Mears would run in the top 15 over the next 35 laps when the No. 07 brought out the caution flag on lap 171. After a quick stop for tires, an air pressure adjustment and fuel, racing resumed with the No. 42 Dodge in 11th. Mears passed the No. 24 car on lap 187 to break into the top 10 for the first time during the race. He continued to work his way toward the front by passing the No. 6 car on lap 188 and the No. 9 car on lap 189. The caution flag waved on lap 195 that would set the team up for its final stop of the day. Mears came down pit road for four tires and fuel, and Wingo told Mears to think about saving fuel. Racing resumed on lap 199 with Mears in eighth and just 68 laps remaining in the race. Mears remained eighth until several car began to make green-flag stops for fuel around 242. Wingo told Mears they would be close on fuel on lap 253, with the team now sitting fifth. Mears went into fuel conservation mode as Wingo was reminding him to be "easy in and off the corners." Three of the front runners made quick fuel stops before lap 264, moving Mears into the second position. He was over 20 seconds behind the leader Tony Stewart, but was hoping Stewart would run out of fuel. Stewart did on the final lap, but so did Mears with half a lap remaining in the race. Both drivers were able to coast across the finish line in their respective position. "It was a fuel mileage day," said Mears. "Fortunately Wingo made a real good call out of the pits. After that last pit stop he said run hard but save all the fuel you can. When we got in position to save fuel I did, and I was a little bit conservative right out of the gate, but I was very conservative with about 30 to go. It's unfortunate we couldn't run up there and fight with Tony, but it was a great day for us. Obviously a second-place finish for this team is about like a win, especially after the streak of races we've had lately. The guys need it. They're the hardest working guys I've ever been around and they deserve a good finish. It was their finish today. It was their call to stay out so I'm real proud of the Texaco/Havoline guys." Mears' teammates David Stremme and Sorenson finished 26th and 43rd respectively. Mears remains 15th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings, but only due to a tie-breaker situation. He currently has the same amount of points as the 14th place driver. The Texaco/Havoline team heads to Talladega Superspeedway next for the final restrictor-plate race of the season on Oct. 8.
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