Casey Mears: GFS Marketplace 400 preview

Casey Mears and the Target Team gained some ground in the championship standings with their fourth-place finish last weekend. The team remains 16th in the championship standings, 204 points out of the top 10.

The Target Team had to settle for a 31st-place finish at Michigan International Speedway in June despite having one of the quickest cars on the track all day. Mechanical failure on lap 43 brought the Target Dodge to pit road for nine laps.

"It was extremely tough to be that quick at the last Michigan race and know there was nothing we could do about it," said Mears. "We are taking the same car back so I am very confident in what we can accomplish this weekend. Michigan has been a good track for me, so I'm looking forward to going back."

Mears has seen many career firsts over the past three weeks. He captured his first career NASCAR Nextel Cup pole at Pocono and went on to earn his second pole the following week in Indianapolis. Last weekend, he earned his first career Nextel Cup top-five finish at Watkins Glen International.

"We continue to prove that we are capable of running up front and being extremely competitive. Getting that first top five last weekend meant a lot to me and the entire Target team. We had been so close before that it feels great to finally get the finish. If we can put together a string of top fives, a win is just around the corner."