Casey Mears, #41 Target Dodge, Auto Club 500 Advance
RACE INFORMATION: EVENT: Auto Club 500 (race 10 of 36) TRACK: California Speedway QUALIFYING: Friday, April 25, 3:00 p.m. PT RACE: Sunday, April 27, 12:00 p.m. PT BROADCAST: FOX television and MRN radio TARGET TEAM FACTS: * Chassis: Team Target will race chassis #114 at Fontana this weekend. This is the same car that finished 15th at Las Vegas Speedway earlier this season. * Mears tested with teammate Jamie McMurray at Infineon Raceway on April 22 and 23. * California natives: Casey Mears (Bakersfield), Jimmy Elledge (Redding), Dave Shano (El Cajon), Roger Parkinson (El Cajon). * Mears is currently third in Raybestos Rookie point standings, behind McMurray and Biffle. * Mears and Jamie McMurray are the first teammate rookies to compete for Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors. * Mears became the first rookie to lead a lap and the only rookie to lead a lap in the Daytona 500. CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY STATS: Casey Mears, Busch Series DATE RACE LOCATION START FINISH STATUS 4/27/02 Auto Club 300 California Speedway 23 29 Running CASEY MEARS QUOTES: "Racing in California is a lot bigger than what people think. Especially for people back East who live in Charlotte and know how big racing is there. I wouldn't say it's as big as it is in the Charlotte area but there is a real strong racing base here. It might not be as big as it is back East but there are a lot of diehard race fans and racers out here. It's hard to say just how big it is but there is a lot of racing influence in California." "As far as my racing background at California Speedway, I started racing in 1997 in the Indy Lights car. I raced the Indy Lights car there from 1997 to 2000. In 2000, I also raced the Champ Car race for Bobby Rahal. And in 2001, I raced a Champ Car there for Morris Nunn. So I've raced two Champ Car races there and four Indy Lights races." "I'm really looking forward to testing Sonoma, it's been a while since I've run a road course. It just feels good to be back in California for the first time in about a year. As far as expectations go, I have high expectations. Just being one of the guys that has a lot of open-wheel background, I'm hoping that I can apply that here." "I went home to Bakersfield, California for Easter weekend. We had a lot of barbeques and saw a lot of family and friends that I haven't seen in a long time." TEAM TARGET CREW: Name Crew position Race shop duty Hometown Casey Mears Driver Driver Bakersfield, California Jimmy Elledge Crew Chief Crew Chief Redding, California Andy Graves Team Manager Team Manager Syracuse, New York Tony Glover Team Manager Team Manager Kingsport, Tennessee Al Shuford Team Trainer Team Trainer Shelby, North Carolina Darren Wolfe Front Tire Changer Front Mechanic Fletcher, North Carolina Marty Forcier Front Tire Carrier Paint Shop Superior, Wisconsin Randy Cox Rear Tire Changer Car Chief Trinity, North Carolina Heath Cherry Rear Tire Carrier Race Day Only Belmont, North Carolina Mark Jacobs Jack Man Race Day Only Ft. Walton Beach, Florida Les Huntley Gas Man Suspension Specialist Renwick, Iowa Todd Anderson Catch Can Man Chassis Setup Jewell, Iowa Doug Spees Windshield Tire Specialist Toledo, Ohio Andy Graves Spotter Team Manager Syracuse, New York Russ Bales Engine Specialist Engine Specialist Sandy Springs, Georgia Chris Coxon Engineer Engineer Cheboygan, Michigan Paul Clapprood Pit Support Front Mechanic Stafford Springs, Connecticut Trevor Lynse Pit Support Test Team Fergus Falls, Minneapolis Dave Shano Pit Support Truck Driver El Cajon, California Bill Henderson Pit Support Rear Mechanic Brookfield, Massachusetts Roger Parkinson Pit Support Shocks San Diego, California Melissa Zeno Scorer Race Day Only Lynchburg, Virginia