O'Reilly Challenge - Casey Mears Notes

PREVIEW: CASEY MEARS (NO. 24 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET)
VENUE: TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY (1.5-MILE TRI-OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR BUSCH SERIES (RACE 33 OF 35)
EVENT: SATURDAY, NOV. 2, 2007 (200 LAPS, 300 MILES)

RETURN TO THE BUSCH SERIES: Casey Mears returns to the No. 24 National Guard Chevrolet this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Mears' last NASCAR Busch Series race came at Kansas Speedway in September, when he finished third.

CASEY AT TEXAS: Mears has competed in three Busch Series races at Texas Motor Speedway, posting fourth-place finishes in the fall race last season and the April race this year.

INTERMEDIATE MEARS: Mirroring his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup statistics, Mears has excelled at intermediate tracks in the Busch Series. His sole victory occurred at Chicagoland Speedway last year, with nine of his 15 career top-five finishes and 19 of his 31 top-10s coming on speedways between one and two miles in length. Three of his four career poles have also come on intermediate tracks.

BUSCH SEASON WINDING DOWN: Mears has split seat time in the National Guard Chevrolet this season with Hendrick Motorsports rookie driver Landon Cassill and road-course ace Adrian Fernandez. The No. 24 team has competed in 23 races, posting seven top-five finishes and 15 top-10s.

MERGING TEAMS: The No. 24 National Guard team completed its move to JR Motorsports two weeks ago. The team is now fielded from the Mooresville, N.C., shop and is a teammate to the No. 88 Busch Series entry driven by Brad Kesolowski.

REPRESENT: The hood of the No. 24 National Guard Chevrolet will honor the 256th Infantry Brigade from Louisiana on Saturday. Every weekend, a different Army National Guard division or brigade is honored on the No. 24 Chevy.

CALLED TO DUTY: Seven California National Guard units were called to duty in Southern California last week to respond to the wildfires. The National Guard has supplied both personnel and equipment, including Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters, to the area.

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AUTOGRAPHS AVAILABLE: Casey Mears will greet fans and sign autographs at 10:15 a.m. local time on Sunday at the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC souvenir hauler outside Texas Motor Speedway.

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CASEY MEARS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 24 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET: (ON THE NATIONAL GUARD TEAM MOVING TO JR MOTORSPORTS.) "I know the same guys are still working on our cars. It's the same equipment, the same seats and all of that kind of stuff. For me, it's going to be the same thing. I think for JR Motorsports it's going to be a change. They need to learn about how Hendrick does things on the Busch side. It will be interesting to see how those two programs mesh. I've seen (Brad) Keselowski a few times at the track and met him at Dale (Earnhardt) Jr.'s house, but haven't really gotten a chance to talk to him."

MEARS: (ON RUNNING BOTH CUP AND BUSCH RACES THIS WEEKEND.) "We feel like we can still learn from running the Busch races when we race the current car (in the NEXTEL Cup Series). It is more hectic and you miss out on team meetings (after NEXTEL Cup practice), but we're learning some information that will translate over to the Cup race. It's mixed emotions, I guess. I love running it, but I do feel like I miss out a little on the Cup side by missing team meetings."

MEARS: (DO YOU MISS RUNNING COMPANION BUSCH RACES?) "It's kind of mixed emotions there. I love running Busch races and have always enjoyed it. They're just fun races to drive. But I think the combination of the Busch races and the COT (Car of Tomorrow) cars, they're just too different. When you're in the races I don't think you're giving anything up, but when it comes to qualify and setting up the cars leading up to the race, it becomes a little more difficult bouncing back and forth between the two garages. The places where this year we ran mile and a halfs with the current car, it's a lot easier translation. But when you're going back and forth between the current car and the Impala SS, it makes a big difference."