MEARS DELIVERS FOURTH TOP-25 AND CONTINUES POINTS CLIMB AT MARTINSVILLE
Player Management International Media Release
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (April 1, 2012) – Entering the sixth race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, Casey Mears and the GEICO Racing team looked to continue their string of top-25 performances and establish a solid position within the coveted owner point standings. High hopes were set, as the Germain Racing team had recorded a 12th-place finish during the most recent event at the Virginia short track (October 2011).
Shortly after unloading the No. 13 GEICO Ford Fusion for Friday’s practice sessions, the team realized things weren’t going to be as easy as planned. While in race trim, a tight-handling condition plagued Mears, which hindered his ability to turn through the corners. This would prove to challenge the team during the 500-lap race on Sunday.
Starting the event from the 25th position, Mears moved up four spots in the opening 10 laps. But soon thereafter, the tight condition returned. The California native was scored in 30th when the first caution was displayed on lap 98. Crew chief Bootie Barker brought Mears to pit road for four tires, fuel, and major adjustments, putting the Ford in 29th for the lap 105 restart.
The GEICO team capitalized on every opportunity that was presented to help Mears, as four cautions took place over a span of 150 laps. Despite the ill-handling continuing, Mears continued to work his way through the field and by lap 350, the No. 13 Fusion was inside the top-25. There was no looking back from that moment on.
While the on-track action picked up as the laps counted down, Mears kept all the fenders on his GEICO Ford during two attempts at a green-white-checkered flag finish to bring home a 25th-place finish. This is the driver’s fourth top-25 effort of the 2012 season. The No. 13 entry also picked up two positions in the owner championship point standings, to take over 27th-place.
“We struggled this weekend,” said Mears. “But even though we were off, the guys on this GEICO team never gave up and kept trying different adjustments to make it better. We got it a little better towards the middle of the race but then ended somewhere around where we started. Hopefully today will help us when we come back here in the fall. I know this team has potential and to finish top-25 is a positive to carry into the off-weekend.”
Next week, Mears and his fellow competitors will take a well-deserved week off before returning to racing action at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, April 12. The Samsung Mobile 500 will air live on FOX beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Performance Racing Network 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