Nicorette 300 - Casey Mears Notes

PREVIEW: CASEY MEARS (NO. 24 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET)
VENUE: ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY (1.54-MILE QUAD-OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR BUSCH SERIES (RACE FIVE OF 35)
EVENT: SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2007 (195 LAPS, 300 MILES)

INTERMEDIATE PROWESS: Casey Mears has experienced much of his success in the NASCAR Busch Series on tracks between one and 1.5 miles in length. Mears' sole victory came at a 1.5-mile track, as did three of his four Busch Series pole positions. Of the 268 Busch Series laps he has led, 212 have come at intermediate tracks.

ALL ABOUT SPEED: Mears has competed in four Busch Series races at the circuit's fastest race track, Atlanta Motor Speedway. He has posted two top-five qualifying efforts in those four events.

LOCAL BRIGADE HONORED: The 48th Infantry "Old Gray Bonnet" Brigade will be honored on the No. 24 National Guard Chevrolet this weekend. The Brigade is based out of Macon, Ga., just one hour from Atlanta Motor Speedway. Last April, nearly 4,000 members of this brigade returned home after a year of service in Iraq.

IT'S A BRAND NEW CAR: Crew chief Chad Walter has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 416 for Saturday's Busch Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The car has never been raced or tested, but is a sister car to Chassis No. 405, which finished second at California Speedway last month.

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MEET THE MEARS GANG: Casey Mears will greet fans and sign autographs at 9:45 a.m. local time on Sunday at the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC souvenir hauler outside Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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CASEY MEARS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 24 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET: (WHAT IS THE BIGGEST DIFFICULTY OF RACING AT ATLANTA?) "The sun is actually a big obstacle for us on the track. At Atlanta the past couple of years, it's been very difficult. Going into turn one you really lose sight for a couple of seconds. You don't really see until you get to the center of the corner. You have to do all you can to prepare for that, whether it's putting extra tape on the windshield or using a couple of extra tear-offs."

MEARS: (ON RUNNING DOUBLE DUTY AGAIN THIS WEEKEND.) "I like any opportunity to run both my Busch and Cup cars. It's just one more opportunity to win a race. Having the National Guard on the Busch car is fun. And the cool thing they're doing is honoring different divisions and units from different states. They pay tribute to men and women who have been deployed overseas. The entire weekend is about them. They enjoy it and we enjoy having them there to hang out with us."

MEARS: (DO YOU HAVE ANY PHYSICAL REACTION TO THE SPEED AT ATLANTA?) "Places like Atlanta, Texas and Lowe's Motor Speedway, where you carry a lot of speed, are probably my favorite tracks. In Indy racing, the cars go anywhere from 240 to 250 miles per hour, so running 200 in a Busch or Cup car isn't as scary for me. I love that feeling, though. Your qualifying lap for sure gets your attention. You're trying to get everything out of the car that you possibly can. That lap is probably the most fun one you'll run all weekend long. I might hold my breath, I'm not sure. I know I've gotten out of the car before shaking, probably from a mixture of fear and excitement."