Casey Mears Dodge Motorsports Transcript

Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2004.
Dodge Motorsports Conference Call
Atlanta Recap, Phoenix Advance
 

CASEY MEARS (No. 41 Target DODGE)

NOTE: Mears, a 26-year-old driver from Bakersfield, Calif., in his
second season behind the wheel for car owner Chip Ganassi, will make his
70th career Cup start on Sunday at Phoenix. Mears scored a career-best
finish of fourth this season at Watkins Glen. He also has nine top-10
finishes in 2004 and ranks 22nd in the series standings. He has two
poles and only two DNF's this season.

 

OPENING COMMENTS "Atlanta was a little disappointing to me. We went
there to test and had a really good test. The car was real fast.
Unfortunately when we tested it was a little bit overcast. When we came
back for the race it was quite a bit warmer. Like almost everybody that
day we fought a real loose racecar. We had a really hard time getting
the balance right. We rode around all day and stayed consistent and
there at the end when the track started to cool down we gained quite a
few spots and ended up 13th. For as much as we struggled through the
majority of the race to come home 13th was pretty good. Things are
starting to pick up in our area. The pit stops are getting a little bit
better. In the past when we had a 20th-place car pretty much like we did
Sunday, we'd come home 20th or 25th. I think this team is really
starting to make a lot of gains and a lot of strides where we can take a
20th-place car and finish 13th with it. I'm pretty proud of that.
Obviously we'd like to run better.

 

"As far as Phoenix goes, I'm looking forward to it. It's fairly close to
my hometown. I've been to Phoenix a lot testing Indy Lights, and I've
run an IRL race there before. I look forward to going back and seeing a
lot of friends and family. We qualified well there last year (eighth)
and then we had engine problems. We're running the Busch and Cup races
there this weekend, and it should be good for us."

 

COMMENT ON RUNNING THE PINK CAR IN OCTOBER "At first, it was kinda
funny. A lot of the crew guys were making fun of the pink car, but once
I learned a little bit more about it and got more involved, we had so
many fans come up and say, 'my mom had breast cancer' or 'I'm a
survivor.' It really hit home and we realized what we were supporting
and it was really cool. At the end of the day it was kind of fun to have
a pink car. It stood out on the track and caused a lot of attention.
Fortunately we seemed to run really well with it. We didn't bring home
the finishes we wanted with it, but we were real fast and had a lot of
fun with it."

 

COMMENT ON YOUR PROGRAM IN GENERAL "I think we've obviously stepped it
up this year. The program is a lot better. We were sitting there about
16th in points and looking fairly strong to jump up in the 12th-13th
range. We got in a little slump. We didn't really have bad-running
racecars. We just got caught up in stuff. At Dover we had a great car
and blew out some tires. At (Kansas), we had an awesome car and blew out
a right front. We've had some things like that happen to us that really
set us back and got us back in points. I don't think that really shows
where we are as a team. We've had some really fast racecars. The thing
we've to do is start bringing those homes. Those mistakes maybe weren't
our fault, but those are the things we've got to start working on and
prevent them from happening. I feel really good about it. I feel like
the whole Chip Ganassi organization is stepping it up this season and
stepping it up even more going into next season. Jimmy Elledge and I are
getting along better than ever and learning each other. He's learning
what I want out of the racecar and I'm learning what I want out of these
types of cars. It's easy to get frustrated when we don't have the
results we're looking for. Now we can look back on it and see the
strides we've made have been huge, and we've got to keep doing that
going into next season."

 

WHAT WILL YOU  FOCUS ON IN THE OFF SEASON? "I think the biggest thing is
that Dodge is going to have a new nose, which is I think is going to be
great. It's kind of cool looking and totally different. They're also
cutting the rear spoiler off the car a little more. Those are going to
be the challenges that we're going to have to overcome. Goodyear is
going to have a new tire next year to try to adapt to the rear spoiler
change. Those are the things we'll most likely be focusing on, trying to
get a jumpstart on that new package. Then also, just refining what we
already have. Fortunately we're in position to do that. A lot of teams
are switching drivers, switching teams. We're going to be together for a
third year, and fortunately I think most of the crew members are going
to be coming back. We lost a lot of people last year, so I think we're
just going to sit down and refine what we have. Other than attacking
this new package, I think we're going to refine what we have and see if
we can't be one of those consistent top 10 teams."

 

HAS WORKING WITH CHARITIES AFFECTED YOU? "It's opened my eyes. I'm a
young guy who's has grown up just focused on racing and racing only.
Until this point, the last few years I've got involved with the Ganassi
organization and Target. Going to the Target House and St. Jude's and
seeing what Target has done for some of these families and what Chip
does to support them as well... The thing with the breast cancer car in
October was amazing. I think it's opened my eyes not only as a driver
but as a person, realizing what effect we can have and how we can help.
It's awesome. I've learned a lot the last couple of years as far as that
goes, and I'm real proud to be a part of an organization that supports
such great causes. Going to the Target House was unbelievable. People
told me about it and said what a great deal it was, but until you go
there and see the smiles it puts on kids' faces and their families that
are suffering through these illness with them, there's nothing like it.
I'm proud to be a part of a team and an organization that supports that.
We might have to break it (pink car) out again. We didn't run real good
at Atlanta, but we did come home with a 13th-place finish. That's
something I know Target wants to get involved in next season, so we'll
have our shot at the pink car again I'm sure."

 

DO YOU THINK PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE LUCKY DOG RULE BETTER? "This year a
lot of rules changed, and the Lucky Dog is probably one of the biggest
they've changed all year. You've only got to be off half a tenth and you
can get a lap down early in these races. I think the Lucky Dog allows
you to be patient. If you get a lap down, work on your car and be able
to come back and race at the end. I know Ricky Rudd brought it up at
Martinsville. In the past when guys are one, two, three laps down, when
guys go to line up on the inside, in the past, it was like, 'well, if
you're three laps down I'll let you get a lap back as a common
courtesy.' Well, the Lucky Dog has opened up some new ways of thinking
about that. If you're three laps down you could wind up in front of
those guys and earn a lap back and it puts you back in the ballpark to
get a Lucky Dog and get back on the lead lap. It's opened a can of worms
in some areas. I think that's opened up different strategies. It's
created some frustration at times, too, when it comes to restarts and
things like that. To know if you're struggling right out of the gate and
the Lucky Dog is available, it changes your approach. You may not
overextend yourself and get the car in trouble trying to hang on to that
lead lap when you can probably get it back with the Lucky Dog."

 

HOW MUCH HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR GANASSI TEAMMATES? "I've learned a
ton from 'em. Sterling is a wealth of knowledge and experience. He's a
guy that is the foundation of the Chip Ganassi organization. A lot of
where we're at now came from the information that Sterling has given.
Jamie and I are starting to work well together this year. Last year, I
was in such a learning state. We didn't have as much to contribute. Now
that we've got more to contribute, the professional relationship between
Jamie and I has gotten a lot better. I think we both respect each other
and what we can do. I think as an organization the three of us can sit
down at meetings and learn something from each other. I think that's a
plus."

 

COMMENT ON TV APPEARANCES "It's fun. Obviously we've got a busy
schedule, but we went out and did the Family Feud and it was a blast.
These guys work so hard week in and week out. They come home late on
Sundays and get up to go to work early on Mondays. It was cool to go to
California and take some of the guys out there and have some fun. As far
as the reality shows, the 360 show and Days of our Lives, things I never
was really interested in doing but after doing 'em had a great time.
It's crazy how this sport is getting so huge it's in such high demand in
those areas."

 

WHAT'S BEEN THE HIGHTLIGHT OF YOUR SEASON SO FAR? "Without a doubt
sitting on the pole at Indianapolis (for Brickyard 400 has been the
highlight). That's a special place for my family. It's been around for
so long. That was so cool. My first pole at Pocono was huge, but to come
back and do it again at Indianapolis was definitely the highlight of my
season."

 

IS YOUR TEAM READY TO WIN OR IS SOMETHING MISSING? "I'm a firm believer
that if you can run inside the top five you can win races. We've proven
at times that we can do that. We're right on the verge of it. We're
missing a little something, we are. It's not necessarily we're missing
the tools. It's not that we're missing the crew chief or driver. I think
we have the package to win races. I know we have the package to win
races, but I think we're just lacking that little bit of time. Seat time
for me, the little bit of gelling time between the team and I. We've
just got to be in position more consistently and more often so when the
time presents itself we can take advantage of it."

 

COMMENT ON DOING MTV CRIB "It's a show MTV does at different performers
houses, sports people, NASCAR. I think Dale Jr. did it. Jamie McMurray
did it. They take a tour of your house and show where you're living,
your vehicles, your cars. It's kind of a cool TV show. I've watched it a
lot. It's fun to watch. I'm always curious of what people have and what
they like to do. I had fun with it. It was a little bit tough last week
when we filled it with everything that happened with the Hendrick
organization. Ricky Hendrick was a close friend of mine. It was kind of
a tough week. I think it went pretty well, but it wasn't in the best of
spirits. I hope it came out well."

 

DO YOU THINK ANY CHANGES SHOULD BE MADE TO LUCKY DOG RULE? "I think it's
fine the way it is. They keep changing things and it's just going to
cause more and more turmoil. If you can keep the rules solid, people get
used to them and the complaining stops and you start realizing where
you're at and start realizing how to take advantage of those. I think
you learn more the longer they stick around. I think everybody is pretty
used to it right now. I don't think necessarily it's a bad thing. I
think we should stick with it the way it is. Everybody knows the way it
is now. The more consistent you stay with things, the easier it is to
understand."

 

 

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