Casey Mears Event Preview Las Vegas

No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet Impala SS - Event Preview Fact Sheet - 
Event/Date: Shelby 427 – March 1, 2009 Venue: Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Las Vegas

>NOTES

* This Week’s Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet at Las Vegas Motor Speedway … Casey Mears will pilot Chassis No. 273 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in this weekend’s Shelby 427. This is a brand new Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet Impala SS. 

* Something to Build On … In six starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Mears has notched three top 10s and only finished outside the top 15 once. The seventh-year Sprint Cup Series veteran has logged a 21.5 average starting position and a respectable 15.2 finishing position at LVMS. He has completed 1,478 of the 1,605 total laps contested (92.09 percent) over that stretch and earned just over $710,000 in purse money. 

* RCR in Sin City … In 29 NSCS starts at LVMS, RCR entries have yet to take home a checkered flag. However, team owner Richard Childress has earned four top-five and nine top-10 finishes at the mile-and-a-half tri-oval. Kevin Harvick’s fourth-place run last March is RCR’s best effort in Las Vegas. On the flip side, RCR-prepared cars have a strong record in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition. In nine races at LVMS, RCR Nationwide Series entries boast two wins, one pole, eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. 

* A Look Back at Last Week … Despite enduring the wills of a less-than-cooperative race car, Casey Mears and Mr. Jack’s Crew used a never-quit attitude to salvage a 24th-place finish in last Sunday’s Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway. Mears and his Gil Martin-led team weren’t able to get their Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet Impala SS dialed in until the very late goings and, ultimately, finished one lap down to the leaders. The Bakersfield, Calif., native slipped from 16th to 20th in the Sprint Cup Series championship point standings but trails 10th-place Juan Pablo Montoya by just 47 markers. Meanwhile, Mears’ RCR teammates Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton and Harvick finished 19th, 32nd, and 38th in the final rundown. Harvick was the class of the RCR stable for most of the night until problems in the engine bay of the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil machine sidelined him 44 laps from the checkered flag. The Auto Club 500 marked the first time since 2007 at Watkins Glen where every team competing under the RCR banner finished outside the top 15. 

* Four to Go … RCR has earned a Sprint Cup Series victory at 18 of the 22 tracks on the 2009 schedule. The only tracks on the current schedule where RCR hasn’t won are Auto Club Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Las Vegas and Kansas Speedway. Additionally, RCR boasts Sprint Cup Series wins at 21 tracks overall, including North Wilkesboro (N.C.), Riverside (Calif.) and Rockingham (N.C.) which are no longer on the schedule. 

* Happy Birthday M&M … Mike Morrison, mechanic and gas man for the Jack Daniel’s team, will celebrate his 30th birthday this Sunday. Morrison is a native of Redding, Calif., and has been employed at RCR since November 1999.

* Casey Mears Live … Mears will meet fans at a pair of stops this weekend. On Thurs., Feb. 26, He will attend the Las Vegas Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities annual NASCAR Driver Auction at Sam’s Town Live, located inside Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall. Sam’s Town is east of the Strip on Boulder Highway. Race fans will have the opportunity to bid on a ride around LVMS with Mears during Sunday’s pre-race driver introduction parade lap. On Fri., Feb. 27, the Bakersfield, Calif., native will sign autographs at the NASCAR Café inside the Sahara from 8 – 9:30 p.m. The Sahara is on the northern end of the Las Vegas strip at 2535 Las Vegas Blvd. South. 

* Meet the Driver … Mears will sign autographs at the Jack Daniel’s souvenir trailer located in the Speedway’s display area, outside the front straightaway, on Sun., March 1 at 10 a.m. Autographs will be available on a first come, first served basis and will be limited in number due to time constraints. 

* Are You Experienced … Mears will appear at the Jack Daniel’s Experience on Sun., March 1 from 10:30 – 10:45 a.m. The Jack Daniel’s Experience will be located in the display area, outside Gate C, on speedway property. The Jack Daniel’s Experience is a 53-foot tractor- trailer filled with artifacts, state-of-the art video monitors, sound system and graphics to give race fans a taste of Lynchburg and the Distillery. Autographs may be available on a first come, first served basis but will be limited due to time constraints. The Jack Daniel’s Experience will be open on Friday from 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 7 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. 

* Up to Speed … The Shelby 427 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be televised live on FOX Sun., March 1 beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio will also provide live flag-to-flag coverage. Qualifying for the third race of 2009 for NASCAR’s premiere division will be televised live on SPEED Fri., Feb. 27, at 6:30 p.m. EST. PRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio will broadcast qualifying updates live.

> CASEY MEARS QUOTES

• Last year, it seemed like Carl Edwards set the bar at the mile-and-a-half race tracks. Last week in California, it looked like Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were the class of the field. Do you rate yourself and your team based on how those guys perform?

“I think that’s logical. You look at the guys who have had success at a particular track in the past and keep your eyes on them and pay attention to what they are doing. But, most of the time, it’s an afterthought. I try to focus on what I need to do, the changes my guys are making and what we need to do to get better throughout practice. Obviously, after practice is over, you go back and look at the time sheets and figure out who is quick. Then, as the weekend goes on, be it in practice or the race, you’ll keep an eye on what those cars are doing but you can’t let that consume you. You have to focus on your end and what your team is doing. It’s so easy to get distracted by looking at what someone else is doing. You’re always better off focusing on what you have and figuring out how to make your car go fast.”

• Other than a 40th-place finish back in 2007, you’ve consistently been a seventh to 15th-place car in Las Vegas. What are your thoughts on Las Vegas? Is there a little bit of frustration knowing that you’re right there on the edge of climbing into the top five or challenging for the win?

“Unfortunately, I’ve run inside the top five at Las Vegas, I just haven’t finished there. Honestly, you want to finish well everywhere. I’ve never really looked at my stats from Las Vegas, specifically, but if you were talking about another race track, I’d feel the same way. I always want to finish better than I did the last time I was at a race track. Hopefully, we can finish better this time at Las Vegas than we did the last time.”

• How much of a gambler are you when it comes to strategy? If you’re in a situation where you know you’re not going to win a race or run in the top five unless you roll the dice a little bit. Where do you rate yourself in situations like that?

“There are a lot of people that are definitely different and approach things in a different way. I’d say I’m a cautious risk taker. These races are too long and the season is too long to make a rash decision and have it cost you a whole race, or maybe even your season. I find myself taking risks when I feel like it’s the right time to do it. At the end of the day, I think that’s what makes a well-rounded race car driver. The guys who finish well year in and year out are guys who take risks, but they choose the right time and place to do it.”

• So would you wager the highest risk for the highest reward like winning a race?

“You have to keep your whole scenario in sight. It’s easy for people to come over and say ‘I just want to win regardless.’ That’s cool. Everybody wants to win but, at the end of the day, if you’re not looking at the big picture, you’re going to end up in the fence a lot more than you’re going to end up in the Winner’s Circle. That’s not going to help anything.”