Casey Mears finished a career best second in the Daytona 500. Credit: Doug Benc/Getty Images

Mears, Newman pleased with Daytona 500 runs

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Casey Mears and Ryan Newman swore they couldn't beat Jimmie Johnson in the Daytona 500, but they knew what they had to do to finish second Sunday.

That was until the second caution in the race's last six laps locked Mears' No. 42 Dodge into the runner-up spot behind Johnson and secured Mears' best career finish in his 109th career Cup start.

Credit: Autostock

Daytona 500 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. J. Johnson Chevrolet 2. C. Mears Dodge 3. R. Newman Dodge 4. E. Sadler Ford 5. T. Stewart Chevrolet Complete results, click here Victory LaneJimmie Johnson celebrates a Daytona 500 victory Top finishersNewman, Kenseth, Stewart, and Junior talk about their day Rough racingStewart slides into Kenseth and is sent to the back of the field Multi-car wreckJeff Green spins in Turn 3 and collects several others Gordon and Stewart brush wallGordon and Stewart make contact and brush the wall Early cautionRacing is clean until Truex Jr. finds the wall Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"I couldn't be happier," Mears said. "These races are so hard to get good finishes in [because] so many people can affect the outcome."

The outcome was in question for more than half an hour after the checkers fell due to the field being frozen by Greg Biffle's caution and, in the end, it was Mears who was most pleased by NASCAR's call.

The pair of Dodge drivers, Mears and Newman, took divergent routes to the finish line on the last lap of the Great American Race, but their decisions were almost moot when a caution flew for a wreck behind them involving Biffle.

While Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet motored ahead, Newman jumped his No. 12 Dodge to the outside of him coming through Turns 3 and 4. Mears kept his Ganassi Racing Dodge behind Johnson, closely trailed by Elliott Sadler and Tony Stewart.

"Right there at the end, I've got to thank Elliott Sadler for giving me a heck of a shove," Mears said. "I wanted to go with Newman as soon as he pulled out.

"But as soon as [Newman] pulled out, [Sadler] had a big run on me, I had to block the bottom [and] that gave me a good shove to cross the start/finish line.

"It's just tough to figure out who to go with at the end, but congratulations to Jimmie -- he is a big friend of mine."

Newman said his move was predicated by one thought: Winning the circuit's biggest race.

"We had a good run," Newman said. "I told the guys over the radio afterward, if I had that run and didn't take it, I would have had a hard time sleeping tonight -- probably for the next 10 or 15 years, maybe -- you never know.

"I'm glad I took [the chance]. Whether we finished second or third, that's beside the point. We had a great effort."

Sunday's finish capped a remarkable month for Mears, who was part of another Ganassi car that won the Rolex 24.

Chip Ganassi, the team owner, had promised Mears, who previously raced open-wheel cars, a ride in this May's Indianapolis 500 if he was able to win the Daytona 500.

Despite falling just short, Mears -- who scored only his fifth career top-five finish -- was feeling no shame Sunday evening after scoring his first Daytona top 10 in seven starts.

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"Obviously we would have liked to have won [because] it would have forced Chip and Felix [Sabates, team co-owner] to put me in the Indy 500, which would have been a lot of fun," Mears said. "At the end of the day, it was a good finish for us, we had an excellent day and I couldn't be happier -- unless we won."

It was a low-key day for the 27-year-old, who was the only driver in the top five not to lead a lap on a day that set the Daytona 500's record for different leaders, with 18.

Mears spent only 55 laps in the top 10 but had the car he needed when it mattered most.

"I had a better car at the end," Mears said. "Donnie [Wingo, crew chief] did an excellent job tuning the car. We made some pretty drastic changes to free the car up."

What everyone in the field had to battle was incredibly heavy air and a constant mist that never caused a caution but definitely affected the track surface.

"I could get through [Turns] 3 and 4 really good -- but 1 and 2 were really slick," Mears said. "I think a lot of the reason for that was the wind was blowing down the frontstretch from Turns 3 and 4 toward 1 and 2.

"That mist was in the air the whole time and I think the mist was catching the banking in 1 and 2 [because] the car worked great in 3 and 4 -- and in 1 and 2 it would be so tight I couldn't get through the corners."

After passing through Speedweeks, the season thus far has been a revelation to Mears, who goes to next weekend's second round, at California Speedway, second in the standings -- seemingly light years away from his previous experience.

"What's exciting about [California] is that those are the places we were most competitive at last year -- the intermediate tracks," Mears said of near-victories at Texas and Homestead. "The test that we had in Vegas, if it's indicative and if the California track is anything like the Vegas track, which it's very similar, I feel pretty good going into it."