NASCAR: Casey Mears to drive for Germain Racing in 2019 Daytona 500
By Asher Fair
Casey Mears is set to return to the NASCAR Cup Series and drive in the 2019 season opener, the Daytona 500, for Germain Racing.
Casey Mears has not driven in the NASCAR Cup Series since he drove in the 2016 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to close out his sixth consecutive season driving for Germain Racing.
However, the 40-year-old Bakersfield, California native is set to change that by attempted to qualify for the 2019 season opener, the 61st annual Daytona 500, this Sunday, February 10.
Mears is set to drive the #27 Germain Racing Chevrolet as the teammate to Ty Dillon, who is Germain Racing’s lone full-time driver and is set to drive the #13 Chevrolet throughout the season. He is the driver who replaced Mears as the driver of the #13 Chevrolet before the 2017 season began. Pat Tryson is set to serve as Mears’s crew chief for this race.
Here is what Germain Racing team owner Bob Germain had to say about Mears driving the #27 Chevrolet for the team in this year’s Daytona 500, according to Motorsport.
"“I have considered running a second car in the Daytona 500 for years. My immediate focus is still on our No. 13 team and the full season that Ty Dillon will run. However, when the chance to field a second car with Casey Mears came together this year with Jay Robinson building the car and providing the at-track crew, I wanted to jump on it.“The Daytona 500 is a race that our team, sponsors and fans are all passionate about, and I am too. In a race where anything can happen, having a second entry is an exciting opportunity. Casey has been a part of our Germain Racing family for years, and I’m grateful that he’s willing to get behind the wheel for me again in this one race.”"
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Over the course of his Cup Series career, which extends from the 2003 season through the 2016 season as of now, Mears has competed in 488 races. He only missed 15 races in the 2010 season and one race in the 2011 season throughout this 14-year span.
Mears’s lone Cup Series victory is his victory in the 2007 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway when he was the full-time driver of the #25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. He has recorded 13 career top five finishes, 51 career top 10 finishes and three career pole positions, and he has led 484 of the 133,680 laps that he has completed. His average career starting position is 24.1 and his average career finishing position is 23.6.
Mears has attempted to qualify for the Daytona 500 a total of 14 times, and he has been successful 12 of those times. He recorded a career-high second place finish in the race in 2006 after starting in 14th in his #42 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge. His average career starting position in the race is 25.2 and his average career finishing position in it is 20.1.
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How will Casey Mears perform in his first NASCAR Cup Series start in more than two years? Be sure to tune in to Fox this Sunday, February 10 at 12:00 p.m. ET for single-car qualifying for the 61st annual Daytona 500, and be sure to tune in to Fox Sports 1 on Thursday, February 14 at 7:00 p.m. ET for the Gander RV Duels, which are set to set the starting lineup for the race.
The race itself is scheduled to be broadcast live on Fox from Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida on Sunday, February 17 at 2:30 p.m. ET, so be sure to tune in to that as well.