HAMPTON, Ga. -- Don't be surprised if you find Mark Martin in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Casey Mears in a Richard Childress Racing Chevy for the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Both drivers may try to get a head start with their new teams for 2009.

"Honestly, I really don't know just yet," Mears said before Sunday's race. "I think there has been some discussion. I actually got a call [Friday] night, talking about what the possibilities might be. Three or four weeks ago, I was under the impression that we're just going to finish the season out, and now we're talking about doing something different toward the end of the year."

Martin, who will replace Mears in the No. 5, already has tested in the Hendrick car, and Mears says he will test with Gil Martin, his RCR crew chief for next year, Nov. 4 at Nashville. It's unlikely Mears will get to race with Gil Martin this season, even if Childress fields a car for him at Homestead. This year, Martin is the crew chief for Clint Bowyer, who is seventh in the Chase standings.

Mears, who will take over Bowyer's No. 07 when Bowyer moves to the No. 33 RCR car next season, said he talked to owner Richard Childress approximately one month ago about the possibility of driving a Childress car at Homestead.

"Unless we could do something where I'm going to be with the team that I'm going to be with for next year, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense from the RCR side," Mears said. "There's a lot of options of things that I could do, but it doesn't really benefit me. So we've just got to wait and see what actually happens."

Mark Martin is committed to his current team, Dale Earnhardt Inc., through the next to last race of the season at Phoenix.