Conversation: Casey Mears (cont'd)

Q: Jeff Burton was the victim of a chain-reaction wreck in Talladega. Afterwards he said, "I still believe, though until NASCAR starts penalizing for causing wrecks, it's never going to quit. The people who cause them never get in them and they'll go on without any penalty whatsoever." What do you think about that and should drivers be penalized?

Mears: I'm not blaming anything on the media, but you have to take in consideration that when comments are made directly after a race, lots of emotions are involved. The tone or approach is going to be a little or a lot different afterwards. I'm not saying [Burton] did not mean what he said, but obviously after accidents emotions are running high. We are all human and it's a part of racing. I don't know how NASCAR could police it any better that they already do. We are human and we all make mistakes.

Q: Was this a typical Talladega race in your opinion?

Mears: Other than my incident, I thought it was a tame Talladega. Everyone was pretty safe and smart for the most part. I was very surprised how patient everyone was being.

Q: Assessing the start of your season, many of the races, well, have been a wreck, no pun intended. Does the word "fluke" come to mind when describing your season thus far?

Mears: I've never seen a season go down like this before. Every time we turn around it seems like we are getting caught up in a wreck or run into some kind of issue. You could say fluke, wrong place at the wrong time or whatever, but like Rick Hendrick said, you can't continue to have bad luck forever. At some point you're going to have clean sailing.

We are a new team and things are starting to gel. The season didn't start the way we wanted and we had a lot of work to do at the beginning of the year to get things right and it got us into this hole.

I've learned enough now to be able to win races. I feel like I'm with the best team in NASCAR and in a great position, but we've had some bad luck this year and a lot of restructuring. The team is coming around. Internally, we all know and understand that we are not a 35th-place team.

Q: Well after Richmond, you'll be joy riding on Sunday in the third annual Ricky Hendrick Memorial Charity Ride, presented by the Hendrick Foundation for Children. The event, open to the public, begins at 7:30 a.m. at Knights Stadium in Fort Mill, S.C., and concludes at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Mears: Yeah, I'm really excited about that. Ricky Hendrick was a special guy to me and being a part of this charity ride is a great way to remember him and it's a great cause.

Q: We hear you have three motorcycles, which one will you ride?

Mears: A Heritage soft tail, it's black. This particular bike means a lot because my grandfather had one like it. Mine is like an early 1990s throwback old-school Harley. My dad had one as well so I decided to get one.

Q: There's a lot of talk about drivers getting personal trainers these days and working on their fitness. Some claim peak physical condition provides a competitive edge. Where do you weigh in on the subject?

Mears: We have a trainer at Hendrick Motorsports ... he's doing a great job. Unfortunately there's not a whole lot of time to workout.

Some guys never workout and are competitive. Racing is an athletic sport and it's physically demanding. If you work out and stay in shape you can be more comfortable in the car, but the biggest benefit I see is when you're in an accident. In my case, this weekend I was a little sore but if you're in shape I think you can endure a higher impact.

Q: This weekend in Talladega made for interesting headlines -- outspoken drivers, fans pelting cars with beer cans, controversial crashes. What do you make of it all?

Mears: I don't know. I just try to concern myself with my own issues. I heard about the fans. It's upsetting when I see the lack of respect for the sport. The fans need to know, hey we like Junior. too. He's a good guy, but the guys who do the best job out there win the race.

Jeff [Gordon] did an outstanding job this weekend, and it's upsetting when fans throw beer cans, especially full beer cans. That's dangerous.

Q: How do you unwind after a crazy weekend like Talladega?

Mears: I don't know, spend time with friends. [Sunday] night when I got home I got in the Jacuzzi because I was a little sore. I went to sleep early so I could get to the shop early and talk about what to fix.

Q: Outside of racing, what's new?

Mears: I'm building a new house, but other than that, racing is pretty consuming right now.