TEAM REPORTS (DAYTONA, FLA.) - HENDRICK'S CASEY MEARS DAYTONA ADVANCE

MEARS AT DAYTONA: Casey Mears will be making his sixth start in the Daytona 500 on Sunday. In his 10 total NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, he has recorded two top-10 finishes, both coming in the 2006 season. In the 2006 Daytona 500, Mears recorded his highest starting position (14th) and highest finishing position (second to current teammate Jimmie Johnson). He has led one Daytona 500 lap, which he completed in his first career start at the historic track in 2003.

NO. 5 AT DAYTONA: This season, Mears joins the Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet team led by crew chief Alan Gustafson. The No. 5 Chevy led four laps of the 2007 Daytona 500 before being involved in a last-lap accident that relegated the team to a 24th-place finish. In its most recent appearance at the track, the Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevy finished second last July, missing the victory by a mere five-thousandths of a second. It was the second-closest finish in Sprint Cup history and the closest-ever finish at Daytona International Speedway since the implementation of electronic timing and scoring.

LOCAL CONNECTION: Gustafson grew up just miles from Daytona International Speedway in Ormond Beach, Fla. After graduating from Seabreeze High School, he enrolled at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which is located less than one mile east of the track. The 2008 NASCAR season will mark Gustafson's fifth as a Sprint Cup crew chief. He has earned four career victories on the Cup level and earned his first-ever Daytona victory in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race last July.

DAYTONA TESTING: The Kellogg's/CARQUEST team tested Jan. 7-9 at Daytona International Speedway, posting the ninth-fastest lap time during all testing sessions. The final test was cut short, however, when Mears' car suffered from a cut tire and an engine issue.

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CASEY MEARS, DRIVER, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST CHEVROLET (ON HIS FAVORITE DAYTONA 500 MEMORY.): "My favorite memory at Daytona is actually when I finished second in 2006. I would have loved to have been one spot higher, but crossing the line second in the biggest race of the year isn't too bad. I wish I would have had the opportunity that year to try for the win, but I just couldn't catch Jimmie (Johnson). Hopefully I'll get another opportunity."

MEARS (ON TRUSTING THE DRIVERS BEHIND HIM ON THE FINAL LAP.): "I don't think anyone is safe leading on the final lap."

MEARS (ON HIS MINDSET IF HE IS RUNNING SECOND IN THE FINAL LAP.): "Well, I would definitely have gone for the lead in 2006 if I could have caught Jimmie (Johnson), but he was too far ahead. So, in that situation, had I been closer to him, I definitely would have tried. I would rather try for the lead, hoping to win, but even if I fall back to eighth or so, it was worth it. Just so you don't have to wonder, 'What if?'"

MEARS (ON WORKING WITH CREW CHIEF ALAN GUSTAFSON.): "Alan's been great. I knew him a little bit before this season, just from working in the same shop. But what I've really learned that I like about Alan is how confident he is. When he makes a decision, he is 100-percent confident in it. And that, in turn, makes me confident in him and in the race car. I think that our communication skills will continue to improve, but really we hit it off right from the start. There's nothing I'd love more than to win the (Daytona) 500 for him and the whole Kellogg's/CARQUEST team."

MEARS (ON THE GATORADE DUELS.): "The Duels are really a great learning opportunity for the (Daytona) 500. You'll learn what cars you can draft the best with and how you stack up against the competition. In the same sense, though, you are racing your primary Daytona 500 car in the Duels. You have to keep that car in one piece. So it can be a little nerve-racking, too. You want to push the limits and see how far you can go, but you don't want to push them too far. Not until Sunday anyway."

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST CHEVROLET (ON FEELING PRESSURE TO WIN ON HIS HOME TRACK.): "When we come here, I really don't think of it as being any different from any other race track we go to. I mean, sure the Daytona 500 is different. But that's the race, not so much the track. It's not like if we win at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) that no one will know about it. I just want to win races. I don't care where it's at.

"Sure, when I climb up on the pit box I'm aware of my surroundings. I know that I grew up just down the street. But to be completely honest, I'd rather win the Brickyard 400 than any other race -- even the Daytona 500. That means more to me, mostly because of the style of racing. Restrictor-plate racing has too many variables to it. At Indy, they can just race.

"Growing up here, racing is everything. I wasn't born into a racing family -- I was just an average kid with an average Joe father. I think that made it a little bit more of a struggle for me to fit in. But, now, when I pull in here, I'm a crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports. There's definitely a feeling of accomplishment there."

GUSTAFSON (ON HIS FIRST DAYTONA MEMORY.): "My first strong memory of Daytona International Speedway was back in the early 1980s. My brother was a Cub Scout, and back then Cub Scouts got in free for the ARCA race and what was then the Busch Clash. We were sitting on wooden bleachers right there where Turn 4 blends into the frontstretch. Ricky Rudd crashed so hard that race. His car just kept flipping over and over and over. I thought he was hurt. Instead, he raced the next weekend. I don't think I'll ever forget that.

"I was here when President Reagan came, too. I remember seeing Air Force Once landing. That was when Richard Petty won his 200th race. That was a really cool day to be here."

GUSTAFSON (ON HIS FOCUS FOR THE WEEK.): "I'm really not concentrating too much on qualifying or the Gatorade Duels. Well, the Duels a little bit because that's a good indication of how your car will perform in the 500. But, as far as starting position goes, that really doesn't matter here at all. A good finish here is a top-10 in my eyes. I want top-10s in the first five races. If we can do that, we'll be a top-five or top-six car in points at the end of the season. It's just a good way to start the season. Now, I hope Casey says we need wins in the first five races (LAUGHTER). Go for the win, but settle for 10th if we have to."

GUSTAFSON (ON TEAMMATES IN RESTRICTOR-PLATE RACING.): "Teammates are important here. You need those guys that you know draft well with your car and will be there to push you when you need it. But you also have to be aware of the fact that when it comes to that last lap out there, you have no friends. There is no driver out there who is going to be happy to help someone else win. It doesn't matter if it's your teammate or your biggest competitor; you can't depend on anyone when that white flag is waving.

"If Casey were running second, I'd hope he'd try for the win. Cut out and see what help you get. Your attempt for first could get you the biggest win of your life, or it could push you back to eighth at the checkered. But at least you would know that there was nothing more you could do. Go down fighting for sure."