Fellow Competitor's Impatience Puts the Brakes on Texaco/Havoline Team's Comeback at NHIS
LOUDON, N.H., (September 17, 2006) --- Casey Mears and the Texaco/Havoline team battled back from a mistake on pit road, but shortly after getting their lap back an over-aggressive move by another driver damaged the No. 42 Dodge. The team finished the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway in the 21st position.
Mears took the green flag from the 24th-starting position for the 300-lap race. The first caution flag waved on lap 3 and Mears told crew chief Donnie Wingo the Texaco/Havoline Dodge was loose in the corner, but had no front grip from the center of the corner off. The second caution flag waved on lap 28 with Mears in 24th. Wingo called Mears down pit road for an air pressure adjustment, a chassis adjustment, fresh tires and fuel. When the green flag dropped on lap 33, the pit crew’s fast stop boosted Mears up to 21st.
The chassis adjustment appeared to be just what Mears needed, as he followed teammate Reed Sorenson up through the field. By lap 52, Mears was sitting in the top 15. He passed the No. 48 car to take over the 14th position, but told Wingo the car was still too tight from the center off. That didn’t stop Mears from passing his other teammate David Stremme on lap 65 for the 13th spot.
The yellow flag was displayed for debris on lap 79. Mears came down pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment in the right-rear tire. The Texaco/Havoline crew’s quick stop kept the No. 42 Dodge Charger in the 13th position for the restart on lap 84.
The caution flag waved just four laps later when championship contender Jimmie Johnson hit the outside wall. Mears stayed on the track for the restart on lap 93. He continued to run in the 13th position until he passed the No. 2 Dodge on lap 141. Mears and his teammates Sorenson and Stremme were running 13th, 11th and 12th respectively at the midpoint of the race.
Green-flag pit stops began on lap 162, and the team’s solid run soon came to an end. Mears came down pit road on worn tires, slid through his pit stall and into pit wall. The Texaco/Havoline crew pushed the car back and into the pit before changing the tires and adding fuel. The long stop dropped Mears back to 32nd, a lap down to the leaders.
Mears apologized to the Texaco/Havoline crew on the radio, and assured them he would get the lap back. When the caution flag waved on lap 192, Wingo called Mears down pit road for right-side tires only to try and gain track position. Wingo wasn’t the only one with that idea as Mears came out of the pits 24th, the third car one lap down behind the No. 5 and No. 07. After just one lap of green-flag racing, the No. 5 was spun out by the No. 07 car. Mears was now in position to earn the free pass back on the lead lap for the restart on lap 203. The Texaco/Havoline team just had to wait four laps for the caution to wave and get back on the lead lap. Mears brought the car down pit road for tires and fuel.
The green flag waved with the red and black Dodge Charger in 21st. It took only two laps of racing for the No. 7 car to bend up the right front fender of the Texaco/Havoline car. The damage was enough to affect its handling, as Mears was now complaining of an extremely tight Dodge on lap 224. The team was able to repair some of the damage during a pit stop on lap 267, but Mears was unable to gain any ground up on the track.
Mears and the Texaco/Havoline team’s 21st-place finish kept them 15th in the standings for the third consecutive week. The team is now just 19 points out of 14th. His Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates Sorenson and Stremme finished 17th and 20th respectively.
The team heads to the “Monster Mile” next weekend in Dover, Del.
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