Casey Mears' primary car is towed back to the hauler after a crash in Friday's practice. Credit: Autostock

Notebook: Tough day at Texas for Mears

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Casey Mears qualified 32nd Friday for the Samsung/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, but after wrecking his primary car he had no way of knowing what might have been.

Mears wrecked his No. 41 Dodge early in the day's Nextel Cup practice session and was forced to go to a backup car from his Ganassi Racing stable.

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"I'm not sure what happened, but something happened to the right front tire coming out of the third turn," said Mears, who started sixth and finished seventh in this race a year ago. "The primary car is pretty used up, so we're going to go to a backup.

"I've never raced this car before, but I've tested it a bunch and never liked it. I guess it'll get a real test now, and it's too bad because our primary car was going to be a good one."

Mears ended the practice 29th, but ran only 13 laps. And after a breakout season a year ago, he's struggled this year, with a best start of 15th -- twice -- and only one top-10 finish -- seventh at Las Vegas.

"I don't know what's going on -- it seems like we can't get a break," Mears said. "Something is always happened before we can get started. We need to get this monkey off our backs somehow.

"We had a real good run here last year, and we were looking for another one on Sunday. We'll go to work and get the car as good as we can and see what happens.

"I really like these high-speed tracks, and Texas is one of those for sure. I think we're going to be OK. We just need a break or two along the way."

McMurray qualifying woes continue

Mears' Ganassi Racing teammate Jamie McMurray continued in a similarly poor qualifying bent, as he'll line up 31st without the benefit of a crash in practice to blame.

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"Qualifying is not my deal -- I don't worry about qualifying," McMurray said. "When we qualify well, everybody is excited. When we don't, I don't really worry about that (because) I think Matt Kenseth has proved over the years that qualifying is irrelevant.

"(Qualifying) is not something we focus on. I hate qualifying. I wish they would draw or start by points. I don't care what they do. I think qualifying is one of the most overrated things in racing. It's something that's even boring to watch (but) it's just part of it.

"I'm not a bad qualifier. I just don't focus on it. I've got a pole in all three series (Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck), but we just don't focus on it. For us, racing is so much more important than qualifying."

Superspeedways Johnson's forte

Not surprisingly, 2005 Nextel Cup point leader Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet leads the league's superspeedway statistics column in several categories after four races.

Johnson leads in points earned with 680, 82 more than Greg Biffle; most top-five and top-10 finishes with four each; most races led, with at least a lap led in all four; and a tie for victories with teammate Jeff Gordon, Biffle and Carl Edwards.

Kenseth, Labonte struggling

Matt Kenseth, the 2003 Cup champion, ranks 21st in the standings after six races, whereas a year ago he was the point leader. Kenseth's forecast at Texas might not be the greatest, as he qualified 39th Friday.

Bobby Labonte, the 2000 Cup champion, has posted four DNFs in six races and ranks 37th in the standings. One year ago Labonte was 13th, but his vile luck ranks him lowest among the drivers that have competed in all six races.

Labonte, who had two consecutive Texas poles, labored into 22nd in the starting field Friday.