Casey Mears drove much of the Aaron's 499 with heavy tape on the nose of his Dodge. Credit: Autostock
By Ryan Smithson, Turner Sports Interactive
April 26, 2004
7:19 PM EDT (2319 GMT)
Casey Mears isn't the only one who has improved as the 2004 season has progressed.
His pit crew had a career day at Talladega, and their work helped Mears turn a bad finish into a top-10 run.
Mears suffered front-end damage in the pits during the Aaron's 499 at Talladega, but Mears' crew taped the car well enough to maintain a spot in the draft.
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Mears hit Johnny Sauter while exiting the pits on Lap 33, damaging the front end of Mears' Dodge, but the constant bump-drafting also took its toll.
On the next-to-last stop, crew chief Jimmy Elledge faced a critical decision:
Repair the front end and lose track position
Leave the damage as-is and maintain a spot in the top 10
Elledge gambled that Mears would be able to work his way back to the front. The damage wasn't bad enough that the team had to fabricate a new nose, but they did place a fresh layer of tape on the grill.
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The fix worked. With his aerodynamics intact, Mears went from the rear of the field to second.
Mears had a shot to win, but he was caught on the outside when the caution flag flew to effectively end the event.
Mears wound up eighth – the best Dodge in the field. He led five laps and moved to 18th in the standings.
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"Considering how beat up this front end is, it's probably good we ended under caution," Mears said. "My nose got beat up bump drafting.
"We were beating the heck out of each other out there trying to get an advantage. That's about the only way you can get an advantage."
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