Handling Hampers All-Star Bid for Mears, Jack Daniel’s 
Chevy in Sprint Showdown

Race/Date: Sprint Showdown – May 16, 2009  - Location: Lowe’s Motor Speedway – Concord, N.C. - Start Position: 23rd - Finish Position: 13th - Points Position: 22nd (maintained position – non-points event)

CONCORD, N.C. – Casey Mears and the Jack Daniel’s Racing team picked up an impressive 10 positions in just 40 laps on Saturday night. Unfortunately, 40 laps were all Mears & Co. had in their attempt to secure a starting spot for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Handling-related issues hampered the efforts of Mr. Jack’s Crew during the Sprint Showdown twin 20-lap qualifying race, in which the top-two finishers and the recipient of a fan vote were awarded a berth in NASCAR’s annual all-star event.

Despite being third-fastest during the weekend’s only practice session for Showdown cars, Mears had to settle for starting 23rd after rain forced NASCAR to cancel time trials and set the 35-car field based on each team’s qualifying draw.

Nearly half of the first segment was slowed by yellow flags, but the seventh-year Sprint Cup Series veteran was strong out of the gate. By lap 12, Mears was 17th and up to 13th by lap 16.

With track position at a premium, Mears’ crew chief, Todd Berrier, opted to keep his driver on the race track during the halfway break.

When green-flag racing resumed, the Jack Daniel’s Chevy developed a tight-handling condition in the center of the speedway’s 24-degree banked corners. In an attempt to remedy the ill-handling machine, Berrier called Mears to pit road for a fresh set of tires and fuel during the race’s fourth and final caution.

Back under green, now in 20th, as a result of most teams opting not to pit, Mears was quick to the whip and picked off an impressive seven spots over the final 15 circuits. While the end result fell short of expectations, the event proved to be a valuable learning tool heading into next weekend.

Sam Hornish Jr. and Jamie McMurray earned the top-two transfer positions while Joey Logano received the nod from the fans.

Tony Stewart went on to collect the $1 million payday that greeted the winner of the evening’s 100-lap feature after coming out on top of a spirited battle with Matt Kenseth.

Mears’ Richard Childress Racing stablemates Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton finished 12th, 15th and 20th, respectively in the second and final non-points-paying event of the year.

The Sprint Cup Series stays in Charlotte next week as NASCAR’s senior circuit returns to Lowe’s Motor Speedway for the division’s annual Memorial Day weekend 600-mile classic.

Flag-to-flag coverage of the 50th running of the Coca-Cola 600 will be televised live on FOX Sunday, May 24 beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. SPEED will televise qualifying live on Thursday, May 21at 7 p.m. EDT. PRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio will also broadcast qualifying updates live.

CASEY MEARS QUOTES

“The Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet wasn’t quite fast enough to get up there and finish in the top two. Track position was everything. It’s tough to make up any ground on the leader when he’s out front in clean air and you’re stuck in traffic. Our car drove well, but I had to wait too long to pick up the throttle in the corners to be able to work my way up front. We only had 40 laps to get the car dialed in and that just wasn’t enough time. At that point, you have to make the most out of your situation, so we made a pit stop and tried to learn some things for the Coca-Cola 600. We didn’t get into the all-star race but we had a productive weekend. We’ll have a good car for the 600.”