Casey Mears, a veteran of 489 NASCAR Cup Sequence races and winner of the 2007 Coca-Cola 600, is making an sudden return to the highest degree of the game.
Mears, 47, will pilot the Garage 66 entry (previously MBM Motorsports) at Martinsville Speedway on March 30. The No. 66 Ford Mustang can have HitchGO as the first sponsor, carrying a black scheme with orange and white lettering.
The nephew of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears, Casey was a mainstay within the Cup Sequence between 2003 and 2016 as a (largely) full-time driver. He later made a one-off begin within the 2019 Daytona 500, crashing out and ending final. In his profession, Mears’ solely earned one victory, but it surely got here at one in every of NASCAR’s crown jewel occasions as he gained the game’s longest race on a gas gamble. His racing profession additionally contains an general victory on the 2006 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, driving alongside Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Chasing 500
When he takes the inexperienced flag at Martinsville, it will likely be his 490th NASCAR Cup begin, placing him simply ten away from a historic milestone. Only some dozen drivers have ever reached 500 Cup races and solely the next energetic drivers can say they’ve achieved it: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Michael McDowell.
Mears has been performing some racing the previous couple of years, notably competing within the Baja 1000, and returns to NASCAR together with his eyes set on reaching 500 profession begins, which possible means we are going to see him some extra this yr (regardless of no different races confirmed at the moment).
“I’m blissful to be again in a race automotive and look ahead to returning to Martinsville, one in every of my favourite tracks,” mentioned Mears in a launch from the staff. “I recognize Carl [Long, owner] working with me to make it occur; he’s a well-respected, nice man who’s labored arduous to expertise longevity within the sport. I’m excited to have HitchGO, Mosby’s Towing and Transport, and Coble Enterprises on board as we chip away at 500 NASCAR Cup Sequence begins.”
The staff has tried one race to date this, lacking the Daytona 500 after Chandler Smith crashed out of the Duel qualifying races.
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