Casey Mears and No. 41 Target Dodge
Pennsylvania 500 – Pocono Raceway Advance
Target Team Facts:
Site of a first: Casey Mears earned his first career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup pole position at Pocono Raceway on July 30, 2004. Mears turned a lap time of 52.411 seconds around the track at an average speed of 171.720 mph. He went on to earn his second career pole the following week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Pocono: Mears has five NEXTEL Cup starts and two ARCA starts at Pocono Raceway. He finished 18th just six weeks ago, but his best finish in the Target Dodge at Pocono was 10th in the June NEXTEL Cup event last spring. He also visited victory lane twice in the two ARCA races he ran at the 2.5-mile track in 2003.
Chassis: Crew chief Jimmy Elledge and the Target team will compete with chassis #114 at Pocono Raceway this weekend. Mears drove this chassis at Atlanta earlier this season to a 19th-place finish after qualifying 15th.
Standings: Mears and the Target team slipped two spots in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship standings to 27th. Mears was running in the top 10 when motor troubles befell the team last weekend in Loudon. The motor lasted through the 300-lap event, but the team was forced to settle for a 33rd-place finish.
Casey Mears Quote:
On Pocono… “I have always liked Pocono because it was fun being able to shift,” said Mears. “Shifting always made the track unique, but the new gear rule has made it similar to a lot of other tracks. When I won the pole in 2004 I shifted three times in one lap. I still like Pocono, it just makes the long straight-aways a little boring.
“I think the Target Team has learned a lot about aerodynamics and set-ups the past few weeks, and we are going back this weekend with something completely different. We struggled some the first race this season at Pocono, but we have been dialed in these last few weeks. I think we’ve learned something we can use this weekend.”
Casey Mears Cumulative NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Record
Career-Best Start: First, twice: Pocono Raceway (July 30, 2004) and Indianapolis (August 7, 2004).
Career-Best Finish: Fourth, twice: Watkins Glen International (August 15, 2004) and Texas Motor Speedway (April 17, 2005).
