Diamond Hill Plywood 200 - Casey Mears Notes

PREVIEW: CASEY MEARS (NO. 24 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET)
VENUE: DARLINGTON RACEWAY (1.366-MILE OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR BUSCH SERIES (RACE 12 OF 35)
EVENT: FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2007 (147 LAPS, 200 MILES)

MEARS KEEPS GETTING BETTER: Casey Mears has consistently improved his finishing position with each of his four NASCAR Busch Series starts at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. After suffering from electrical problems in his 2002 track debut, Mears finished 12th in the August race that same year. In his two most recent Darlington starts, he has posted finishes of ninth and sixth, respectively.

KEEPING THE STREAK ALIVE: With a seventh-place finish last Friday at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, the No. 24 National Guard team has now earned six consecutive top-10 finishes this year. Mears has now tied his record for the most top-10 finishes in a Busch Series season.

MEARS SUPPORTS THE TROOPS: This weekend, the 218th Infantry Brigade from Newberry, S.C., will be honored on the No. 24 National Guard Chevrolet. The 218th Brigade, whose motto is "Steadfast of Purpose," has recently been deployed in support of operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

NO TESTING: The No. 24 National Guard team will forego Busch Series testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway next week. Mears will put the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Impala SS through its paces during NEXTEL Cup testing at Dover, Del., instead.

CHASSIS 346: Crew chief Chad Walter has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 346 for Friday's Busch Series race at Darlington. The car was last raced as a No. 57 Chevy last season at Homestead-Miami Speedway where it started and finished 13th.

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MEET MEARS: Casey Mears will greet fans and sign autographs at 2:45 p.m. local time on Saturday at the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC souvenir hauler outside Darlington Raceway.

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CASEY MEARS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 24 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET: (ON THE NATIONAL GUARD TEAM'S TOP-10 STREAK.) "I think our top-10 streak goes back to Las Vegas, and we would have probably had a top-10 there, too, if it weren't for that early accident. We have such a strong team, and it seems like every week we're just getting better and better as far as working together and understanding each other. A win is right around the corner for us. I'll be relieved and happy for the whole team and the National Guard when we finally get to victory lane."

MEARS: (ON CELEBRATING MOTHER'S DAY.) "My mom is a real special lady. She's been a huge supporter of mine for a long time. Not just emotionally and cheering for her son, but she does a lot of work for me behind the scenes. She runs my online store, handles all of my bills and takes care of any personal things that I need taken care of. She's given me such good advice over the years and supported me top to bottom. I look forward to racing this weekend and hope to bring home a win for her."

MEARS: (ON HAVING SOME TIME AT HOME IN THE COMING WEEKS.) "Well, we missed having our Sunday last week off. But I'm looking forward to this Sunday and spending some time with my mom. The weeks that we race at Lowe's Motor Speedway are nice because we're at home, but they're also really busy, too, so I know that I, personally, don't get to spend as much time relaxing as I wish I could. But it is nice to sleep in your own bed and not have to pack a suitcase. I'm looking forward to it."