Casey Mears pays visit to Michigan International Speedway

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Despite not knowing his future in 2009, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Casey Mears is still remaining positive about driving the No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports for the remainder of the 2008 campaign.

Mears, who recently announced he was leaving the No. 5 team following the 2008 season, was at Michigan International Speedway on Wednesday promoting the 3M Performance 400 presented by Bondo, which will be held at MIS on August 17. Tickets and camping for the race weekend are still available.

As part of the event, Mears drove hot laps in the MIS pace care with media members and fielded some tough questions about his future in NASCAR.

“There are a lot of opportunities out there right now,” Mears said. “I’m just focused on winning races for Hendrick Motorsports and hopefully I’ll get a deal done in the near future.”

Mears is no stranger to success at the two-mile Irish Hills oval. He has made 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at MIS with his best finish of fourth coming in June of 2007. Mears won his only ARCA RE/MAX Series start at MIS in 2003 and also posted four top-10 finishes in five career Nationwide Series starts at the track. He placed 11th in the 3M Performance 400 last year.

“This is a great track to race at,” Mears said. “With the multiple grooves here you can pretty much race anywhere. I like to set my car up for the bottom of the track, but if we need to move up to the wall, you can race there too. It’s fun to drive here.”

The name “Mears” goes a long way in the racing community. Casey is the son of Roger Mears, who raced in three CART races at MIS in 1982 and 1983. Casey’s uncle Rick Mears was arguably the most famous driver in the family having won three open wheel races at MIS and also the Indianapolis 500 four times.

“I enjoyed growing up in a racing family,” Mears said. “My dad (Roger) and uncle (Rick) were very successful in this business. My uncle Rick won here at MIS and also at Indianapolis a few times. It’s definitely been nice to keep the family tradition going. I’m having a lot of fun.”

Tickets and camping are available for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 3M Performance 400 presented by Bondo on August 17 and NASCAR Nationwide Series CARFAX 250 on August 16 by calling the official MIS Ticket Hotline at 800.354.1010 or by visiting MISpeedway.com. Michigan International Speedway, “It’s Your Speed!”