Circuit City 250 - Casey Mears Notes

PREVIEW: CASEY MEARS (NO. 24 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET)
VENUE: RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (.75-MILE D-SHAPED OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR BUSCH SERIES (RACE 11 OF 35)
EVENT: FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2007 (250 LAPS, 187.5 MILES)

ANOTHER TOP-FIVE: Casey Mears led 52 laps en route to a third-place finish in last Saturday's NASCAR Busch Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The top-five finish was the National Guard team's fourth of the season and its fifth top-10. An early race accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway resulted in the team's only finish outside of the top 10 this season.

RECORD-SETTING SEASON: In only six starts, Mears has already tied his record for most top-five finishes in a single Busch Series season. He is one top-10 finish away from tying his personal best in that category as well.

MEARS SUPPORTS THE BLUE AND GRAY: The No. 24 National Guard Chevrolet will honor the 29th Infantry Division this weekend at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. The division, nicknamed "Blue and Gray," is located in Fort Belvoir, Va., approximately 30 minutes southwest of Washington, D.C. The Blue and Gray was most recently deployed to Kosovo in 2005.

RACER TURNED GOLFER: Mears participated in the Wachovia Pro-Am Golf Tournament at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson. He spent Tuesday morning shaking off the rust by playing a 10-hole practice round.

CHASSIS 402: Crew chief Chad Walter has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 402 for Friday's Busch Series race at Richmond. The car was tested at RIR earlier this year and finished seventh last month at Phoenix International Raceway.

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MEARS AND COMPANY: Casey Mears will greet fans and sign autographs at 3:15 p.m. local time on Saturday at the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC souvenir hauler outside Richmond International Raceway.

AUTOGRAPH SESSION: Mears will sign autographs at Kroger's Sixth Annual "Night With The Drivers" event to benefit Victory Junction Gang Camp from 6-7 p.m. local time on Thursday. The event takes place at the Richmond International Raceway Amphitheater, and Mears will appear on behalf of Pepsi.

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CASEY MEARS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 24 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET: (ON THE NATIONAL GUARD TEAM'S PERFORMANCE THIS SEASON.) "I'm really proud of this team. The season started out pretty tough for all of us with wrecking the two cars at Daytona. That was a tough pill to swallow, but everyone bounced back so well. We've rattled off top-five after top-five in the National Guard Chevrolet. We're a threat to win every weekend we're out there. We're close -- we just need to get that extra inch to push us into victory lane."

MEARS: (ON HAVING LOCAL BRIGADES WITH THE TEAM EACH WEEK.) "The National Guard has been a great sponsor all season. They're extremely supportive and we all enjoy having them on the car each weekend. The local brigades that are on the Busch car each weekend come to the track and we get a chance to catch up with each other on race day. They're all really pumped to be there and it kind of raises the morale of the team. Getting good finishes for the team is great, but knowing that the soldiers are getting pumped up is rewarding, too."

MEARS: (ON RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY.) "This track always makes for good racing. The track has two grooves, which promotes side-by-side racing throughout the night. The most important aspect of the car, really, is being able to roll through the center (of the corner) well. If the car will turn through the center and have forward bite on exit, it's a lot of fun to drive."