Mears Ready for the Gatorade Duel in Texaco/Havoline Dodge
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 12, 2006) --- Casey Mears made his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup debut as the pilot of the Texaco/Havoline Dodge today at Daytona International Speedway. Mears ran the 30th quickest time to determine his starting spot in one of the two 150-mile qualifying races for the Daytona 500 that will be run on Thursday. His effort was not without a small hiccup as the No. 42 Dodge Charger wouldn’t start when it was Mears’ turn to qualify.
“Either there wasn’t enough charge in the battery or we had a problem with the starter,” said Mears. “The Texaco/Havoline Dodge just wouldn’t turn over fast enough to get it fired. It finally started, so we got a little lucky. We spent all that time messing around with it, and it might have got the engine a little bit too hot. We might have lost a little there, but I’m glad we ended up where we ended up.”
Mears turned a lap time of 48.345 seconds at a speed of 186.127 mph around the 2.5-mile superspeedway. His time was three tenths quicker than he ran in either practice session on Saturday.
“To run a 48.30, I couldn’t be happier,” added Mears. “The wind was the same as yesterday. It affects the car, but not its drivability. I gave myself plenty of room near the wall and it worked out well. So far things have been going well, and I’m excited about the season. The Dodge Charger drafted really well in testing, I’m looking forward to seeing how it handles in practice on Wednesday.”
Mears’ Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates Reed Sorenson and David Stremme qualified 29th and 43rd. Unofficially, Mears will start 15th in the second qualifying race, while Sorenson and Stremme will start 15th and 22nd respectively in the first Duel.
The Gatorade Duels at Daytona are a pair of 150-mile qualifying races to determine the starting lineup for “The Great American Race.” The qualifying races from Daytona International Speedway will be broadcast live on TNT television and MRN radio on February 16 at 2 p.m. EST.
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