FAST CAR, FAST PIT CREW, BUT NO BRAKES FOR MEARS IN PHOENIX

Player Management International Media Release

Avondale, AZ (March 4, 2012) – When Casey Mears and the GEICO team arrived in Phoenix for round two of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, they were met by clear skies and warm temperatures.
 
Although many were groggy from the short week, the Sprint Cup Series hit the track for practice on Friday afternoon.  Mears ended the first practice session in the 29th position, but final practice saw the Bakersfield, CA, native put the #13 GEICO Ford Fusion in the 16th position.  Qualifying took place a day later and Mears’ effort landed him 31st on Sunday’s starting grid.
 
While the car was loose in qualifying trim during practice, race trim told a different tale, as evidenced in the final practice session.  When the green flag waved over a full house in Phoenix, Mears quickly jumped from his 31st starting position to 26th by the close of the second lap.  High temperatures caused a slippery racetrack and Mears would quickly find himself trying to manhandle the #13 GEICO Fusion. 
 
When the event’s first caution flag of the day was displayed on lap 16, Mears took the opportunity to bring his GEICO Ford to the attention of his crew.  After taking on left-side tires, fuel and adjustments, the Germain Racing pit crew returned Mears to the racetrack one position to the good.
 
With 50-laps in the books, Mears radioed to crew chief, Bootie Barker, that his car was loose and the tires appeared to be falling off fast.  He also mentioned that his brake pedal was getting soft. 
 
The yellow flag set the field under caution for the second time on lap 59, giving Mears the opportunity to travel down pit road for necessary adjustments.  The Germain pit crew outfitted the #13 GEICO Fusion with four tires, fuel and adjustments before, once again, helping Mears pick up a position on pit road.  After entering the pits in the 25th position, Mears exited in 24th. 
 
Just two laps later, Mears worked his way back into the top 20 and everything appeared to be going his way.  Unfortunately, on lap 110, Mears would fall victim to the brake issue when his brake pedal went straight to the floor as he entered turn one.  After taking a hard hit, Mears climbed safely from his heavily damaged GEICO Fusion and found himself relegated to a 39th place finish in Phoenix. 
 
“It’s a disappointing day because the #13 GEICO Fusion was really fast in race trim and we picked up a lot spots quickly, but as the race wore on the tires would fall off and then we had the brake issue,” Mears said as he looked over his damaged racecar.  “We made a big change in the off-season and we are playing with all new equipment, so these things will happen.  We learned a lot about our car today and also the SIM program.” 
 
He continued, “I’m really proud of our pit crew today, they did a great job of getting me off of pit road and we gained spots on each stop.  We have all of the pieces in place: new Ford cars, Roush Yates Engines with great horsepower and our team has really stepped up.  Bob Germain (team owner) has done a great job of getting us what we need this year and you can see it in the improved speed and performance over a year ago.  This is just the second race of 36 and, quite frankly, we expected to have some issues due to the changes that we made late last year; we’re still learning about our new equipment, parts and pieces.  As the season progresses so will we.” 
 
The Germain Racing team will next travel just a few hours away to Las Vegas, NV, for race number three of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.  Mears and his #13 GEICO Ford Fusion will hit the track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the opening practice session on Friday, March 9th, at 3:00 PM (ET).  Qualifying will follow at 6:40 PM (ET). 
 
The Kobalt Tools 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is on Sunday, March 11th, and it will be televised live on FOX beginning at 2:30 PM (ET).  The Performance Racing Network (PRN) will carry the live radio broadcast.
 
To learn more about the GEICO racing program, please visit: www.geicoracing13.com
 
You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing
 
Please visit the Casey Mears Facebook fan page: www.facebook.com/caseymearsracing