Mears feeling right at home with his new team at RCR (cont'd)

"Not every situation is right for everybody," Burton said. "If you're part of a team and other drivers are having success, that doesn't mean you can't be successful -- it means that that program doesn't work for you.

"Matching the right people together is extremely important. It's chemistry, that's what it is; and Casey hasn't had the situation where he could be as successful as I think he can be."

“

Honestly I haven't thought a whole lot about where [RCR was] last year and what they've done, I just know that I'm going in with a really good organization [and] obviously we want to continue success. That's [all making the Chase] something we want to do again this year.

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-- CASEY MEARS

Mears, laughing, said the biggest impact of the team change was that he "doesn't get to see my friends as often," but he downplayed even that, saying "I've got some great teammates over there at RCR. Those guys are very talented [and] obviously have a lot of information [so] it's all right there as far as teammates goes."

And he said friend Jimmie Johnson would never be more than 10 digits away.

"I think when you come to the race track you're focused on racing and it doesn't matter who that teammate is," Mears said. "I don't know if I'm losing anything because I can still call Jimmie and talk to him right now if I wanted to."

For his part, Johnson said he considered his friend "an amazing driver" and said Mears' recent history, including four different teams and crew chiefs in the last four years, has been his biggest holdup.

"I think that for Casey, he's lacked a little bit of continuity with the team," Johnson said. "If you look at his crew chief situation every year, it's been a new crew chief from the days at Ganassi and switching things around over there. So I think as [2008] went on, he and Alan [Gustafson] started hitting on some things and we saw Casey much more competitive."

At Preseason Thunder, Mears seemed almost apologetic to his former Hendrick teammates, but he stressed it was because of the comfort level he'd quickly been granted at his new home, and that a quick start is very possible, and he doesn't feel any undue pressure.

"Honestly I haven't thought a whole lot about where they were last year and what they've done, I just know that I'm going in with a really good organization [and] obviously we want to continue success," Mears said. "That's [all making the Chase] something we want to do again this year.

"The first indications of everything that I've gotten so far working the little bit that I have with Gil and the guys, spending time around the shop, it's just a good fit -- it really is a very good fit. Gil and I have clicked right away. The test that we had in November, every single change we made on the car went in the right direction, and to me that was a good indication that we're communicating, he understands what I'm saying, and he's translating it to the car.

"I thought I was comfortable last year, and now I'm over here at RCR and I'm working with Gil and these guys, and I'm realizing that I wasn't as comfortable as I should have been last year. These guys have really made me feel at home, and the speed has shown when we have gone and tested -- we've been quick. So I'm really optimistic about this year, and I think that the chances of us having a lot of success this year is very high."