The Official Website of Casey Mears and the Mears Gang

Rick Mears & The Mears Gang Book -- Buy It Here!
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Through the eighties and into the early nineties he was known as the King of the Speedways and the maestro of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Rick Mears won four Indianapolis 500s between 1979-1991 as well as three CART Indy car championships before retiring at the end of 1992 when he realized that a series of injuries had conspired to reduce his ability to operate at the maximum and to enjoy his sport to the fullest. Mears is one of very few great sportsmen who retired at the height of his career in the immediate aftermath of some of his greatest performances. Equally, when Rick stepped out of the cockpit he enjoyed a superlative reputation as one of the cleanest, most sportsmanlike race car drivers the world has ever known. “He was very polished,” says Mario Andretti in the book’s Prologue.

“He was probably one of the most correct drivers out there to race against. I always had the greatest respect for Rick Mears.” Rick’s story begins in Kansas in the post-WWII years where his mom and dad, Skip and Bill, were born and raised. Bill was an auto mechanic who loved to race and with his young wife’s complete support Bill became a very successful, weekend short track racer across Kansas and Oklahoma before migrating west to California in 1955 and settling in Bakersfield with his young family. Pretty soon, Skip and Bill’s sons, Roger and Rick, were racing; older brother Roger in stock cars and Rick on motorcycles. Bill supported their passion wholeheartedly, providing the motivation, shop, equipment and know-how to build his boys race cars and in the early seventies the ‘Mears Gang’ –as they became known †seriously made their mark in Southern California sprint buggy and off-road racing. Both of them also tackled Pike’s Peak and won. Roger and Rick had different driving styles and personalities.

Roger was an aggressive racer, like his father had been, while Rick was more laid-back, more analytical. Neither of them dreamed of becoming serious, professional racers, but in 1976 Rick got his big break thanks to safety equipment man Bill Simpson who gave Rick his first Indy car ride. Simpson saw the rare talent Rick possessed and got Mears’ Indy car career rolling before handing his contract with Rick over to Roger Penske at no cost in the fall of 1977. Rick became a Penske driver in 1978 and scored his first win in his third race with the team. He went on to win the 1979 Indy 500 and CART championship and establish an enduring relationship with Penske that lasted through and beyond his retirement from driving at the end of 1992. Ultimately, he won four Indy 500s (equalling the record set by A.J. Foyt and Al Unser), three CART championships and twenty-nine Indy car races, and was admired and respected not only as a superb driver and racer but as a rare gentleman on and off the track. Meanwhile, brother Roger went on to race Indy cars for a few years before focusing his career on off-road racing where he was an extremely successful owner/driver.

And the ‘Mears Gang’ tradition carries on today with Roger’s son Casey racing in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series with the all-powerful Hendrick Motorsports Team where he’s teamed with Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. In ‘Rick Mears • Thanks’, veteran racing writer Gordon Kirby, the U.S. editor of Motor Sport, tells the whole story of Rocket Rick Mears and the Mears Gang’s journey from dirt tracks to superspeedways. And the book also shows us how a sportsman or woman should behave as a professional and as a human being. Enjoy the read and the ride.

PREVIEW: CASEY MEARS (NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET)
VENUE: DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (2.5-MILE TRI-OVAL) CIRCUIT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 18 OF 36) EVENT: JULY 5, 2008 (160 LAPS, 400 MILES)

STRONG SPEEDWEEKS: Casey Mears had the strongest Speedweeks of his career at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February. Mears followed a sixth-place finish in the Budweiser Shootout with a fourth-place effort in the first Gatorade Duel, putting the No. 5 Chevrolet ninth on the starting grid for the Daytona 500. Mears was running third with six laps left in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, but finished 35th after an accident.

NAIL-BITER: In July 2007, the No. 5 Chevy missed Victory Lane at Daytona by just .005 seconds. The team led 20 laps before crossing the finish line in second place. It was the second-closest margin of victory recorded by NASCAR since the implementation of electronic scoring in 1993.

HOTTER IN JULY: The No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet team has performed well recently during the 400-mile summer race at Daytona, recording two straight runner-up finishes. The No. 5 team took second in 2006 and 2007.

HOMETOWN CHIEF: Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet, grew up in nearby Ormond Beach, Fla. Gustafson got his training at a young age, turning wrenches on go-karts driven by Casey Yunick, the grandson of legendary Smokey Yunick. One of Gustafson's goals was achieved during the NASCAR Nationwide Series race last July when he coached the No. 5 Chevrolet to a win at his home track.

MEARS AT RESTRICTOR-PLATE TRACKS: In 22 restrictor-plate starts, Mears has earned one top-five finish and six top-10s. His career-best finish of second occurred in the 2006 Daytona 500. In his most recent restrictor-plate outing, Mears finished seventh at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April.

HENDRICK AT DAYTONA: In 49 races at Daytona, Hendrick Motorsports drivers have recorded 10 wins, 39 top-five finishes and 71 top-10s. Hendrick's drivers have combined to lead 1,198 laps at the restrictor-plate track. Saturday evening's event will mark team owner Rick Hendrick's 50th career Sprint Cup race at Daytona International Speedway.

MEARS A YEAR AGO: In this race one year ago, Mears started 21st and led 11 laps before finishing 19th. Mears took the lead with 12 laps to go, but in the final laps was shuffled back to the 19th position.

NEW CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-453 for Saturday's race at Daytona. Mears drove Chassis 5-453 to a sixth-place finish in the season-opening Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.

CLERMONT APPEARANCE: On Wednesday, Casey Mears will sign autographs for fans of the No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST team at the Wal-Mart in Clermont, Fla., approximately 80 miles southwest of Daytona Beach. Mears will be available from 7:15-9:15 p.m. local time.

AUTOGRAPH SESSION: Mears will sign autographs at the Kellogg's/CARQUEST souvenir trailer at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday at 4:25 p.m. local time.

CASEY MEARS, DRIVER, NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET (ON THE CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET'S DAYTONA PERFORMANCE.): "We had a great car in February for both the Shootout and the (Daytona) 500. We were a little loose in the start of the race, which I think made everyone a bit nervous, but once the sun went down we were nearly perfect. We had the opportunity to win, but made contact there at the end with Tony (Stewart). I'm looking forward to going back and finishing this one the right way."

MEARS (ON HENDRICK'S RESTRICTOR-PLATE PERFORMANCE.): "Hendrick Motorsports has such a good restrictor-plate program. I think you need to look at it, too, and see that the team has some really good drivers that have won a lot of restrictor-plate races. All four of these cars (Nos. 5, 24, 48 and 88) work really well together on the track. Making that happen is somewhat out of our control, but if the opportunity presents itself, you should see all four Hendrick teams up front in the end."

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET (ON HIS APPROACH TO RUNNING AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY.): "Daytona is tough because you have to have speed, and you want to make sure the car is trimmed out and fast. But you really have to handle well there. That was the case in February. You really had to handle good with the old Monte Carlo, and you have to handle well with the new Impala. July makes it a little tougher because it's so hot, and the track is so slick. The guy who can keep the throttle wide open longest is usually going to run the best. That's how you look at that event. That's a fun race and usually an exciting race. I love racing under the lights there -- it adds a neat element."

GUSTAFSON (ON HOW THE TEAM'S APPROACH DIFFERS FROM FEBRUARY TO JULY.): "In February, you focus more on pure speed with qualifying, and the track conditions are a little better with it being cooler. Qualifying is definitely more specialized then. When you go in July, the practice pace is quicker. You don't have as much time so you have to be more prepared and just really focus on getting your car to handle well. You don't focus on the speed as much. In February you worry about qualifying, getting maximum speed and then getting a car that drives good for the race. That's the difference, and then you definitely take the track conditions into account. You know it's going to be hot and slick and get slicker as you run throughout the night."

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