Casey Mears
Daytona 500 Pre-Race Notes
Race Information
● Event: Daytona 500 (Round 1 of 36 )
● Time/Date: 1:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, February 15
● Location: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL
● Layout: 2.5-mile tri-oval
● Laps/Miles: 200 laps/500 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 65 laps / Stage 2: 130 laps / Final Stage: 200 laps
● TV/Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (channel 90)
Notes of Interest
● Mears earned his spot in the 68th running of the Daytona 500 by persevering through a last-lap crash to beat Corey LaJoie and Chandler Smith to the checkered flag. His efforts yielded an eighth-place finish and a spot in the Great American Race. Mears will roll off of the starting grid from the 17th position on Sunday.
● Mears won the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend in 2007. Of the roughly 3,000 drivers who have started NASCAR Cup Series races in the sport’s 77-year history, only 206 have ever won a race, placing Mears in elite company.
● Mears and team owner Carl Long are former competitors, with Long experiencing considerable longevity in NASCAR, logging over three decades in the sport as a driver and team owner.
● In a sport steeped in history, the Germain family and Casey Mears share their own. Mears wheeled the No. 13 NASCAR Cup Series entry for Germain Racing from 2010 – 2016. He has remained close with his former boss, Bob Germain, making this a natural and nostalgic partnership. Germain has provided the funding to allow Mears to pursue 500 Cup starts.
By the Numbers
● With 494 NASCAR Cup Series starts heading into Sunday, Mears is just six shy of joining the exclusive 500 start club. Just 47 drivers in NASCAR history have eclipsed the mark, with the only active drivers being Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Michael McDowell.
● Mears’ success at Daytona International Speedway is well-documented. Aside from a host of Top 5 and Top 10 finishes, the Bakersfield, CA, native has completed an impressive 4,390 of 4,688 laps at a track known for its mayhem. He’s widely regarded as one of the top restrictor-plate racers in the business, and his 93.6% lap completion rate at the 2.5-mile, high-banked facility is a testament to his patience, skill and quick reflexes.
● The No. 66 S.I. Yachts/The Gracie Foundation Ford Mustang is not the first car Mears has driven with the number 66. He previously wheeled the No. 66 Pioneer-WorldCom Honda-Reynard for Mo Nunn Racing in the CART FedEx Championship Series (now the NTT INDYCAR SERIES), and the No. 66 Phillips 66/Injex Chevrolet for Cicci-Welliver Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.