Casey Mears: "We're a top-10 contender week-in and week-out -- as long as we have luck on our side." Credit: Autostock

Mears at ease with his place in stock car racing

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Casey Mears always knew he was going to be a racecar driver.

Like a lot of drivers coming into NASCAR these days, Mears started early. He was so young he barely had enough time to get out of diapers before he began racing.

"I started racing when I was 3 or 4 -- bicycles and go-karts and four-wheelers," said Mears, who turned 27 on March 12. "It was all for fun. That's something my dad and uncle did for a living, but it was fun for me."

	CASEY MEARS •   Driver Page •   2005 Statistics THIS WEEK'S RACE •   Cup Entry List •   Track Page: Atlanta •   Buy tickets to Atlanta

His father, Roger, and uncle, Rick, had made a living in racing, running off-road and then IndyCars. Rick Mears was one of the most successful open-wheel drivers in history, having won the Indianapolis 500 four times.

Not long before Uncle Rick won his fourth Indy 500 in 1991, Casey knew he wanted to drive for a living.

"By the time I got to 12 or 13, I started racing in the Mickey Thompson off-road series," Mears said. "I was on TV. People were asking for autographs. You started comprehending the fact you could do this for a living. I was making a little money at it.

"I was having fun, and I thought if I could do it for a living I was going to pursue it and see if I could make it happen. Ever since I decided I wanted to go in that direction, my family has been behind me 110 percent. Fortunately, I've gotten to this point now."

His parents knew how tough a time Casey would have in racing, so they tried to dissuade their young son.

"My mom and my dad had a lot of highs and lows," Mears said. "I knew it wasn't easy. It's a fickle business and you've got to put the numbers on the board to keep your job, but you've got to do your job well or the next guy is going to take it.

"I wanted to pursue it, and as soon as they knew I wanted to they got behind me and we made it happen."

Of course, it hasn't happened where Mears thought it would. He figured he'd be driving an IndyCar full-time, not a 3,400-pound stock car behemoth.

"I always seen myself in an IndyCar," Mears said. "The first time I probably saw myself as a stock car driver was probably halfway or toward the end of my Busch season. I didn't expect to be in the Busch car.

"It kind of just happened, and I didn't know anything about it. I got in the car and it was pretty unexpected, but I couldn't be happier. I would love to run the Indy 500 some day, but I wouldn't change where I'm at."

	NASCAR's first quit-smoking sponsor -- Nicorette -- takes to the track at Atlanta this weekend with Casey Mears behind the wheel.
	Inside the Numbers Casey Mears' Cup statistics Year Races Win T5 T10 2005 3 0 0 1 2004 36 0 1 9 2003 36 0 0 0 Total 75 0 1 10 Casey Mears' Busch statistics Year Races Win T5 T10 2004 13 0 2 6 2003 14 0 1 4 2002 34 0 1 2 2001 1 0 0 0 Total 62 0 4 12

Mears moved into stock cars in 2002, driving in the Busch Series. A year later, he was driving for Chip Ganassi Racing in NASCAR's top division.

He's made only 75 starts in Nextel Cup, posting 10 top-10 finishes. Last year marked a season of change for Mears, as he won two poles and posted the best finish of his career, a fourth at Watkins Glen.

There were some other stellar runs, too, and Mears seemed to be knocking on the door of Victory Lane. His confidence soared.

Yes, Mears is a totally different driver from when he started in Nextel Cup.

"I feel so much more confident in our program and myself," Mears said. "All the way around things have gotten better and it just came with time and experience. Anything you start out doing, you get a couple of years down the road and look back and think you didn't know anything.

"As long as we continue to keep learning and keep growing on that path the way we've been doing, I don't see any end to it. I think we're going to be strong in the future. Right now, we're a top-10 contender week-in and week-out -- as long as we have luck on our side."

Luck wasn't there in Daytona and California, but Mears finished a strong seventh last week at Las Vegas.

"We got in a crash at Daytona, and at California we had a little bit of paper on the grille, so luck hasn't been on our side," Mears said. "Fortunately at Vegas we had a really good car. Happy Hour was kind of disappointing and we were a little worried going into the race, but we made some changes that really helped the car out. We were fast right out of the gate and ran good all day long.

"We had trouble with pit stops a little bit and that got us back there a little ways, but the guys gathered it back up the second half of the race and we had good pit stops and got a top-10 finish. We really needed that after the last two races. It was a good gain in the points. We're definitely in position now to start making some good gains."

The Vegas finish moved Mears up 13 spots in the points to 15th, 182 out of the lead but only 41 out of 10th.

Yes, Mears did have time to learn a little math when he was younger. Racing wasn't exactly everything, but it is now.