Texaco/Havoline Team Recovers from a Lap 1 Incident to Finish 20th at Sonoma
Sonoma, Calif. (June 25, 2006) --- Casey Mears and the Texaco/Havoline team rallied back from involvement in a multi-car melee on lap 1 to finish 20th in the Dodge/Save Mart 250 at Infineon Raceway. The finish dropped Mears and the team one spot in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standing to 15th with 10 races remaining before the “Chase for the NEXTEL Cup” begins.
“That was really disappointing,” said Mears. “I saw the car spin in front of me and tried to get slowed down. The entire track was blocked and I was hit from behind. There wasn’t much we could do. The guys worked hard to get the Texaco/Havoline Dodge back out on the track and we were able to salvage a top-20 finish.”
Mears started the 100-lap road course race from the 34th position after his qualifying effort on Friday. The team, led by crew chief Donnie Wingo, had developed a strategy to get Mears to the front by pitting out of sequence but never had the opportunity to execute the plan.
Shortly after the drop of the green flag, the No. 21 car spun out in front of Mears. While he tried to slow down to avoid the incident, he was hit from behind by the No. 22 car. The Texaco/Havoline Dodge received damage to the left front of the car, the hood and the deck lid. Mears brought the car down pit road on lap two for four fresh tires and to have the fenders, hood and deck lid worked on by the Texaco/Havoline crew. When racing resumed on lap 3, Mears was in the 40th position, the last car on the lead lap and reporting the car was now extremely tight.
Mears was several seconds back from the field at the drop of the flag due to the extensive repairs in the pits. He caught the tail end of the lead lap on lap 25 when he drove around the No. 10 car. Green flag pit stops began on lap 27 with the No. 42 Dodge in the 35th position. Wingo called Mears down pit road on lap 34 for tires and fuel. Mears was now the final car on the lead lap in the 35th position.
The yellow flag was displayed on lap 38 and Mears told Wingo the car was really tight. The Texaco/Havoline crew made an air pressure adjustment in the rear tires, packed the car full of fuel and sent Mears back out. Racing resumed on lap 41. Mears took over the 34th position when teammate Reed Sorenson spun on lap 42.
The caution waved again on lap 47, and since the No. 42 Dodge Charger was one of the last cars on the lead lap, Wingo called Mears down pit road for fresh rubber and fuel. The green flag waved on lap 48 with Mears sitting 32nd. He passed the No. 19 and No. 55 cars on lap 52 to get back in the top 30. Several cars continued to have trouble and the caution waved again on lap 58. Mears told Wingo the car was really tight on the right-hand turns, so Wingo called for a trackbar adjustment during the team’s four-tire stop on lap 60.
The race got underway again on lap 61 with Mears in 34th place. He worked his way up to 27th on lap 64 when Wingo called him down pit road to top the car off with enough fuel to make it to the end of the 110-lap race. Wingo knew the other teams would have to pit and take on tires, so he gambled to earn some valuable track position. The leaders began to make their green-flag stops on lap 68. When the pit stops cycled through and the caution finally waved on lap 96, Mears was now sitting 22nd and up five positions due to Wingo’s pit call.
Two additional cautions, including a red flag for a multi-car incident on lap 104, plagued the final 14 laps of the event. Mears battled the handling of the Texaco/Havoline Dodge over the closing laps of the race to take the checkered flag in the 20th position.
Mears’ Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates Reed Sorenson and Scott Pruett finished 29th and 30th respectively.
The Texaco/Havoline Team heads back to Daytona next weekend to try and improve on its second-place finish in the Daytona 500 under lights on Saturday night.
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