Mears doesn't feel like a small fish in a big pond

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. -- Humpy Wheeler and Casey Mears went fishing together on Lake Norman just outside of Charlotte on Wednesday, and Mears pulled a fish up out of the water so fast that one had to wonder if Wheeler had sent someone down in scuba gear to plant the catch on Mears' hook.

Wheeler, a master showman who also happens to be the track president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway, has been known to pull all kinds of stunts. But pulling fish on cue out of a great expanse of water isn't one of them.

LMS

Casey Mears shows off his Coca-Cola 600 ring.

For Mears, though, the act was symbolic. Pulling wins out of the Nextel Cup circuit isn't easy, either, yet Mears finally did it for the first time at Wheeler's LMS track when he captured the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend.

Wheeler insisted that it will be far from Mears' last at the Cup level.

"He's just had a lot of bad luck. You know, you think, 'Gee whiz, some guys have so much bad luck, what are they doing that other people aren't?' But some guys just have a consistent stream of it, and you've got to shake it off," Wheeler said. "Bill Elliott couldn't win a race for anything for a long time -- and when it broke for him, it was like Mount Vesuvius.

"I think Casey has that type of talent. The crew chief and the crew, all that has got to come together so much now. That whole chemistry involving everybody has to be there, but I think he'll get there. I really do."

Mears said he appreciates Wheeler's faith in him.

"It's cool that Humpy says that," Mears said. "It's all there for us. We've got speed. We started off the season a little rough. But other than that, we've had some really good runs and I think that our future is really bright. I really do. I think it continues to grow and get better. The team continues to get stronger.

"You've got to have all the right stuff surrounding you to show people what you can do. Fortunately, this year I've had the opportunity to do that a few times -- and hopefully we'll do it more before the year is out."

Heading into this weekend's 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Mears obviously is a man on the move in the right direction. Since capturing his first and so far only Cup victory in May, no driver has gained more spots in the standings than Mears. He entered the Coca-Cola 600 sitting in 35th, and enters this Sunday's event in 16th.

If it seems like no one has noticed much, well, that's the way it is for Mears most of the time. He by far carries the lowest public profile of the four drivers currently employed by Hendrick Motorsports, and that's not going to change next year when Dale Earnhardt Jr. replaces Kyle Busch. The other Hendrick drivers are four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon and defending champion Jimmie Johnson.

"A lot of people said when I first went to Hendrick, 'Well, you're going to be the fourth spoke on the wheel now. Jeff and Jimmie have won races. So-and-so has won races. And you're kind of going in there as the fourth driver,'" said Mears, who is in his first season driving the No. 25 Chevrolet for Hendrick after making 144 starts in four full seasons at Chip Ganassi Racing. (Continued)