Carfax 250 - Casey Mears Notes

PREVIEW: CASEY MEARS (NO. 24 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET)
VENUE: MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (TWO-MILE D-SHAPED OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR BUSCH SERIES (RACE 25 OF 35)
EVENT: SATURDAY, AUG. 18, 2007 (125 LAPS, 250 MILES)

THREE OUT OF FOUR AIN'T BAD: In four NASCAR Busch Series starts at Michigan International Speedway, Casey Mears has accumulated three top-10 finishes, with two of those inside the top five. His career-best finish of second came last August after leading four laps.

CONTINUING THE STREAK: The No. 24 National Guard team and driver Mears have now posted six top-five finishes and 12 top-10s in their 14 Busch Series starts this season. Mears' current 8.9 average finish puts him among the top-10 in that category this season.

ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: In his seven years of Busch Series competition, Mears' current 2007 stats with Hendrick Motorsports are a personal record for the most top-five and top-10 finishes in a single season.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS: This weekend, the 76th Infantry Brigade, nicknamed the "Nighthawks," will be honored on the No. 24 National Guard Chevrolet. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the 76th Infantry Brigade was called upon to actively serve in Bosnia and Kosovo from December 2000 through May 2005.

BIRTHDAY SHOUTOUT: Chuck Joyce, the spotter for Mears, will celebrate his birthday Saturday at Michigan. The McLeansville, N.C., native keeps a busy schedule during the week as the owner and president of A Way To Go Travel Agency located in Greensboro, N.C. Joyce joined Hendrick Motorsports as a spotter in 2006.

CHASSIS 405: Crew chief Chad Walter has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 405 for Saturday's Busch Series race at Michigan International Speedway. The car earned second-place finishes at both California Speedway and Lowe's Motor Speedway earlier this season.

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AUTOGRAPHS AVAILABLE: Casey Mears will greet fans and sign autographs at 10 a.m. local time on Sunday at the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC souvenir hauler outside Michigan International Speedway.

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CASEY MEARS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 24 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET: (ON THE TEAM'S CHANCES OF WINNING A NASCAR BUSCH SERIES RACE THIS SEASON.) "We've just got to do everything right. Our cars have been fast enough to win races. We've just got to get all the details right and make the right call there at the end of the race to be in the position to win. We've had some really good Busch cars this year with the National Guard Chevy and hopefully we can hit on it and win one of these."

MEARS: (ON MICHIGAN'S CHARACTERISTICS AS A RACE TRACK.) "Michigan's always one of those tracks where you fight that balance of getting the car loose enough, so that you're not too tight at the end of a run. The cool thing about Michigan is that it usually gives you some options as a driver. You can run the bottom, you can run the top. The last few times I've been there, I've been right around the bottom. But depending on how your car handles, it gives you the option to try the top and I really enjoy race tracks like that. If your car isn't working quite right, you can go somewhere else and make it work a little bit better."