MEARS BRINGS HOME TOP-10 FINISH IN SPRINT SHOWDOWN

The GEICO Racing Team Builds Notebook and Momentum Heading Into Coca-Cola 600

Player Management International Media Release

CONCORD, N.C. (May 18, 2013) - Each season before the summer stretch of the schedule begins, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns "home" to Charlotte Motor Speedway for two weeks. The leadoff event is the Sprint Showdown, providing two additional drivers the opportunity to compete in the Sprint All-Star Race. Casey Mears and the GEICO Racing team not only looked to transfer to the big show, but also to build their data notebook before next week's points race, The Coca-Cola 600. 

Prior to qualifying on Friday afternoon, the Germain Racing team made a substantial amount of changes to the No. 13 GEICO Ford. Those tweaks proved to be the right call as Mears placed his Fusion in the fifth starting position for Saturday night's 40-lap event. 

A brief rain shower delayed the start of the Sprint Showdown on Saturday, but once the track dried, Mears was ready to charge to the front of the field in the two 20-lap segments. During the first segment, Mears quickly reported the GEICO Ford was hitting the racetrack very hard, making it difficult to carry momentum into turn one. Despite this condition, Mears successfully ran in the sixth position. A caution-free opening segment provided a competition yellow at lap 20 to allow teams the opportunity to make adjustments on pit road.(complete release)

MEARS FASTEST IN DARLINGTON BEFORE FALLING VICTIM TO CRASH

Player Management International Media Release

Darlington, SC (May 11, 2013) – While misfortune has gotten the best of Casey Mears and his Germain Racing team in previous weeks, it has only come about due to indiscretions of others on the racetrack.  After Darlington, Mears and the #13 GEICO Ford Fusion have now played the role of victim in three of the last four races, finding themselves as collateral damage in crashes caused by others.

Mears was quick off of the truck in Darlington, sitting 15th on the scoring tower in the weekend’s opening practice session.  He later suffered from a poor qualifying draw, 7th, but showed little affect when he sped around The Lady In Black in just 27.501 seconds/178.815 miles per hour, landing him 19th on the starting grid and accounting for Germain Racing’s best-ever NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying effort at Darlington Raceway. 

With the weekend off to a fast start, Mears and his GEICO team eagerly anticipated the green flag on Saturday night.  The impending rain held off and a packed house watched a full 500-miles of racing on Mother’s Day weekend.  Mears rolled off of the starting grid 19th and found the speed that he relied on in practice and qualifying.  By lap 22, the #13 GEICO Ford Fusion was consistently faster than the leader.  Aside from picking up positions, Mears also picked up debris on the grill of his Ford Fusion and it began causing a rise in the water temperature as airflow to the engine became restricted.  With a normal threshold of 260-275-degrees, Mears radioed to crew chief Bootie Barker on lap 33 that his temperature gauge had hit the 300-degree mark.  Barker ordered him down pit road immediately as the rising temperature would most likely result in a blown engine.  After the crew removed a sizeable piece of plastic from the grill of the GEICO Ford, Mears departed pit road two laps down, in the 39th position. (complete release)

AFTER RUNNING IN THE TOP FIVE, THE ‘BIG ONE’ DASHES MEARS’ HOPES FOR TALLADEGA WIN

Player Management International Media Release

Talladega, AL (May 5, 2013) – After leading four times during the October 2012 race at Talladega Superspeedway, Casey Mears and his GEICO team arrived in Alabama eager to take to the 2.66-mile high-banked racetrack for practice.  Mears delivered, sitting as high as 5th in the weekend’s first practice session before qualifying was later rained out, forcing him to start Sunday’s race from the 22nd position.

With impending weather on Sunday, most of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series planned a race to the halfway point, which would find them at lap 94 of a scheduled 188.  Instead, the rain held off and allowed 123 laps of racing before showers and hail blanketed the speedway and forced a red flag that would last three and half hours. 

When the green flag started the racing action, Mears was quick out of the gate and wasted little time rocketing to the front of the field.  After starting 22nd, the #13 GEICO Ford Fusion found itself in the top ten by lap five and three laps later on lap eight, it was running in the fifth position.  Multiple times, the GEICO Fusion was part of single-file breakaways that seemed conducive to avoiding peril.  While running in the top 10 on lap 43, space became scarce for Mears when Kyle Busch collided with Kasey Kahne, sending both cars into the #13 Germain Racing entry, causing heavy frontend and side damage.  The incident spurred a chain reaction crash that collected 13 cars in its web before the smoke had settled.  While Mears had been pinned against the outside wall by Busch and Kahne, he reported to crew chief Bootie Barker that the car still had its steering and seemed to go straight.  He quickly traveled down pit road to an awaiting Germain Racing pit crew.  They were expedient in the repairs to Mears’ GEICO car and returned him to the racing surface just one lap down to the field. (complete release)