Late-Race Surge Powers Mears, Jack Daniel’s Chevy to Top-10 in Richmond

Race/Date: Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400 – May 2, 2009 - Location: Richmond International Raceway – Richmond, Va. - Start Position: 41st - Finish Position: Ninth - Points Position: 20th (gained one position)

RICHMOND, Va. – Sometimes change comes with anxiety. Sometimes it comes with inspiration. Sometimes it comes with attitude. For Casey Mears, change came with a ninth-place finish.

Mears came into the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway with an entirely new team. Todd Berrier was now calling the shots for the seventh-year Sprint Cup Series veteran after team owner Richard Childress decided to shake things up a bit in hopes of jump-starting the performance of his Jack Daniel’s-sponsored No. 07 team.

Mission accomplished.

Mears distilled a masterpiece over the closing laps of Saturday night’s 400-lap feature, slicing his way from 22nd to ninth over the final 39 circuits and left Richmond with his first top-10 showing of 2009.

The inspired performance also offered an added bonus, with Mears jumping one position, to 20th, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship point standings. The former open-wheel standout has climbed six spots in points over the last four races and now trails 15th-place Mark Martin by just 77 points. Meanwhile, he trails Matt Kenseth by 138 markers. Kenseth represents the final driver that would qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, although16 races remain before NASCAR sets its 12-team playoff field.

Mears wrestled a tight-handling Jack Daniel’s Chevy during qualifying and was only able to muster the 42nd-fastest time of the session.

Despite the initial setback, the Jack Daniel’s Chevy was fast in race trim and Mears earned a handsome 12 spots during the opening 48 circuits. While he fell a lap down to the leaders prior to the 100-lap mark, dynamite pit stops, and a never-quit attitude in the cockpit, kept Mr. Jack’s Crew within striking distance all night.

By lap 111, Mears faded to 32nd as a result of an ill-handling machine before the night’s second caution flag waved just two laps later. Fortunately, a “did-I-see-that-right” sub 12.5-second pit stop snared him an impressive five positions before green-flag racing resumed on lap 121.

The Jack Daniel’s Chevy was the first car one lap down when the evening’s sixth caution flag waved less than 100 laps later, affording Mears the “Lucky Dog” free pass just past halfway. By NASCAR rule, the first eligible car, not on the lead lap when the caution flag waves, is given one lap back as long as more than 10 laps remain in the race.

Back under green, now in 24th, Mears made a steady climb up the leaderboard over the next 91 trips around Richmond’s three-quarter mile oval and was just outside the top 10 when the 10th yellow waved with 92 laps to go. Berrier summoned his driver back to the service lane one lap later, but a hiccup during the ensuing stop left the Jack Daniel’s Chevy 18th when the green flag waved on lap 312.

The Bakersfield, Calif., native fought a tight-handling machine during the next 46 circuits and was stymied in 19th when the 15th and final caution flag flew on lap 357.

With nothing to lose and everything to gain, Berrier called Mears back to pit road for a final set of fresh tires the following lap and, with most teams opting to either not pit or just take two tires, the black and white No. 07 Impala SS was 22nd for the lap 361 restart.

Mears put on a clinic over the final segment, picking off position after position in wholesale fashion. By lap 366 he was 18th, 15th three laps later and up to 11th with 20 to go. He snagged two more spots during the closing laps and was ninth when the checkered flag waved.

Kyle Busch beat Tony Stewart to the finish line by nearly three seconds to log his third victory of the season. Mears’ Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton was third, Ryan Newman finished fourth with Mark Martin rounding out the top five.

Fellow RCR stablemates Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick were credited with 18th- and 34th-place finishes, respectively. Bowyer ran near the front of the field for most of the night, but faded near the end while Harvick was the victim of circumstance after being in a lap-291 incident in turn 3.

Next weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits historic Darlington Raceway as the drivers of the premier division in American motorsports take on the famed “Lady in Black.”

Flag to flag coverage of the Southern 500 from Darlington Raceway will be televised live on FOX Saturday, May 9 beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 11th race on the 2009 schedule will be televised live on SPEED Friday, May 8 at 5 p.m. EDT. MRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio will provide qualifying updates live.

CASEY MEARS QUOTES

“It was a good night for the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet. Our team really needed this. We started out the weekend pretty rough. That’s probably a result of trying to learn what Todd (crew chief Todd Berrier) and his guys did for Kevin (Harvick) versus what Gil (Martin) and I had been doing. We had a trend of things that we were working on for the last couple of weeks and Todd was doing something different. It just took a little bit of finding out what I wanted versus what Kevin needed. We had a couple miscues that held us back but, at the same time, when we didn't have problems, the over the wall guys were amazing. Todd made a lot of good decisions as far as getting the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet better throughout the race. It was a great night for us. From qualifying 40-something and ending up where we did was a huge accomplishment. We needed it. Considering all the changes we made, to come out of Richmond with a top 10 is a real positive for us."

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