Casey Mears, #41, Martinsville 400 Advance
RACE INFORMATION: EVENT: Pontiac Excitement 400 (race 11 of 36) TRACK: Richmond International Raceway QUALIFYING: Friday, May 2, 3:00 p.m. ET RACE: Saturday, May 3, 7:30 p.m. ET BROADCAST: FX television and MRN radio TARGET TEAM FACTS: -Chassis: Team Target will race chassis #106 at Richmond. #106 has been to two tests this season (Martinsville and Lakeland) and was the backup car for this season's Martinsville race. -Short Track Racing: Mears finished 32nd at Bristol and 36th at Martinsville this season. -Best Finish: Mears' best finish of the season was a 15th place finish at Las Vegas where he was the highest finishing rookie. -Only 1: Mears has only had one DNF this season. He was involved in an accident at Talladega Superspeedway and finished in 40th place. -Mears and Jamie McMurray are the first teammate rookies to compete for Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors. -Mears is currently third in Raybestos Rookie Point Standings. -Mears became the first rookie to lead a lap and the only rookie to lead a lap in the Daytona 500. RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY STATS: Casey Mears, Busch Series DATE RACE LOCATION START FINISH STATUS 5/3/2002 Hardee's 250 Richmond International 25 23 Running 9/6/2002 Funai 250 Richmond International 7 30 Accident CASEY MEARS QUOTES: "The finishes we've had so far this season hardly reflect what this team has learned. Yeah, we all want to win races and sit on poles but right now we have to look at it realistically. We need to finish races this first half of the season, and we've done that. For me to get as many laps in at each track is the main goal right now. The second half of the season, when we go back to these tracks a second time, is when we will be more focused on performance and where we finish. I've got this Target Team behind me 110%. We have progressed so much every race this year. And when we have problems, we just learn from them and keep moving forward. I know we have a good shot at a win and a pole later in the season." 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