Mears moving to No. 5 car next season at Hendrick

CONCORD, N.C. -- Casey Mears will drive the No. 5 Chevrolets for Hendrick Motorsports in the 2008 Sprint Cup Series, joining a team that secured its second consecutive Chase for the Nextel berth Sunday at California Speedway.

In his first season with Hendrick Motorsports, Mears has notched one victory, a pole position, four top-five finishes and six top-10s through 25 races. The Bakersfield, Calif., native will complete the current schedule in the organization's No. 25 Chevrolets before transitioning to the No. 5 team, which will continue to be sponsored by Kellogg's and Carquest.

The effort will be led by Alan Gustafson, 32, who has earned four wins, two poles, 25 top-five finishes and 45 top-10s since his first season as crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolets in 2005. Only five Cup Series teams have posted more top-10 finishes during that span.

"My goal is to meet the high standard the drivers before me helped established with the No. 5 Chevrolet, both on and off the track," said the 29-year-old Mears. "I'm looking forward to working with Alan and the team to continue the winning tradition for Kellogg's, Carquest and Hendrick Motorsports."

Since its inception in 1984, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team has posted 27 victories and 35 pole positions with just four different drivers -- Geoff Bodine, Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte and Kyle Busch. It has finished among the top 12 in Cup points in 17 of the past 23 seasons (1984-2006), including a championship in 1996.

"The No. 5 was our first car [at Hendrick Motorsports], so, for me, there's a lot of personal history in that team," said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. "Casey has proven capable of winning and running up front, which is what the No. 5 has always been about. The goal is more victory lanes and championships for the team, and for Kellogg's and Carquest."

The relationship between Kellogg Co. and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team is one of the most enduring in NASCAR. Kellogg's debuted as primary sponsor of the No. 5 Chevys in 1994 and has since earned a Cup Series title, 16 race wins, 89 top-five finishes and 170 top-10s.

In 2002, Carquest Auto Parts joined Hendrick Motorsports as an associate sponsor of the cars driven by Ricky Hendrick in the Busch Series. The relationship transitioned into a Cup-level associate sponsorship in 2004 and grew into the co-primary sponsorship with Kellogg's this season.