Casey Mears was fastest in Saturday's first practice. Credit: Autostock

Despite fast time, Mears still has work to do

After leading first session, No. 42 car ordinary in big picture

JOLIET, Ill. -- Sometimes, lap times are deceiving.

Casey Mears turned a lap of 177.784 mph to pace the first Saturday practice at Chicagoland Speedway, but he says his team has a lot of work to do for Sunday's USG Sheetrock 400.

	Greg Biffle got his sixth top-10 in a row.
	Happy Hour Speeds USG Sheetrock 400 Pos. Driver Time Speed 1. G. Biffle 30.953 174.458 2. J. Burton 30.965 174.390 3. D. Blaney 31.044 173.947 4. K. Harvick 31.053 173.896 5. Ky. Busch 31.092 173.678 • Complete speeds, click here • 2nd Practice speeds, click here

Mears' average lap time of 171.750 mph was 16th-best, and he says his Dodge has to perform well on the long green-flag runs that are common at 1.5-mile tracks.

"We ran a really good lap time but the car was pretty tight," Mears said. "That is why we were able to run such a good lap time. As time went on, it got too tight on long runs.

"We really have to work on freeing it up for the long runs, so we have to free it up. Honestly, I'd rather be 10th or 12th on the sheet and have the car turn a little bit better."

Polesitter Jeff Burton ran an average lap time of 172.189 mph in the first practice on Saturday -- eighth-best -- despite running 36 laps on the same set of tires.

Biffle leads Happy Hour

Greg Biffle's lap of 174.458 mph led Happy Hour, but he ran only 27 laps in the final session. No fewer than 23 of the 43 starters ran 30 or more laps in the final session. Burton posted the second-fastest time.

Mears, who was 28th in the final practice, arrived at Chicagoland Speedway with uncharacteristic beard stubble, and the facial hair has been lucky. Mears qualified a solid 11th at a track that has always been one of his favorites on tour. He followed it up by winning the Busch Series race on Saturday.

"I probably shouldn't [shave]," Mears said. "Things are going well. I should leave it alone. Kind of lazy. If it keeps working, it'll keep going. It feels fine."

The qualifying run stopped a horrific qualifying streak for Mears, who had qualified 21st or worse seven races in a row.

"Chicago has always been a good track for us," said Mears, who finished ninth here last year. "Always qualified well here [and] always raced well."

Mears, still looking for his first win in Nextel Cup, has consistently threatened to win on high-banked tracks like Chicagoland. Mears, who has historically run well in streaks, enters Chicagoland on the heels of two top-10s in the last three races.

"We have to work on getting our racecar good," Mears said. "If we get it turning a little bit better it is going to make a big difference."