Casey Mears, a veteran of 489 NASCAR Cup Sequence races and winner of the 2007 Coca-Cola 600, is making an sudden return to the highest stage of the game.
Mears, 47, will pilot the Storage 66 entry (previously MBM Motorsports) at Martinsville Speedway on March 30. The No. 66 Ford Mustang could have HitchGO as the first sponsor, carrying a black scheme with orange and white lettering.
The nephew of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears, Casey was a mainstay within the Cup Sequence between 2003 and 2016 as a (largely) full-time driver. He later made a one-off begin within the 2019 Daytona 500, crashing out and ending final. In his profession, Mears’ solely earned one victory, but it surely got here at one among NASCAR’s crown jewel occasions as he gained the game’s longest race on a gasoline gamble. His racing profession additionally consists of an total victory on the 2006 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, driving alongside Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Chasing 500
When he takes the inexperienced flag at Martinsville, it will likely be his 490th NASCAR Cup begin, placing him simply ten away from a historic milestone. Just a few dozen drivers have ever reached 500 Cup races and solely the next energetic drivers can say they’ve achieved it: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Michael McDowell.
Mears has been performing some racing the previous couple of years, notably competing within the Baja 1000, and returns to NASCAR together with his eyes set on reaching 500 profession begins, which doubtless means we are going to see him some extra this yr (regardless of no different races confirmed right now).
“I’m glad to be again in a race automobile and look ahead to returning to Martinsville, one among my favourite tracks,” stated Mears in a launch from the workforce. “I admire Carl [Long, owner] working with me to make it occur; he’s a well-respected, nice man who’s labored laborious to expertise longevity within the sport. I’m excited to have HitchGO, Mosby’s Towing and Transport, and Coble Enterprises on board as we chip away at 500 NASCAR Cup Sequence begins.”
The workforce has tried one race to date this, lacking the Daytona 500 after Chandler Smith crashed out of the Duel qualifying races.
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