PREVIEW: CASEY MEARS (NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC MONTE CARLO SS)
VENUE: DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (2.5-MILE TRI-OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES (RACE 18 OF 36)
EVENT: SATURDAY, JULY 7, 2007 (160 LAPS, 400 MILES)

MEARS AND THE PEPSI 400: Last season, Casey Mears posted his best finish in four career Pepsi 400 starts when he turned a 40th-place qualifying effort into a seventh-place result at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

BEST FINISH AT DAYTONA: Mears also notched an impressive result in last year's season-opening NEXTEL Cup Series race at Daytona when he finished second to current Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson in the 2006 Daytona 500. Johnson won the race with Darian Grubb -- now crew chief of the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet team -- atop the pit box.

CHASSIS 361 FOR MEARS: Grubb has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 361 for this weekend's NEXTEL Cup race. The car last saw action in February when Mears finished 20th in the 2007 Daytona 500, but has since been re-bodied after it suffered significant front-end damage in a wreck at the end of that race. Last July, Chassis No. 361 also led 13 laps in the 2006 Pepsi 400 before finishing 18th.

THE 25 AT DAYTONA: In July 1986, the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet secured its only Daytona victory to-date when driver Tim Richmond led 18 laps en route to winning the Firecracker 400.

NEXT GENERATION OF NASCAR: As tire specialist for the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet team, Lisa Smokstad is a recognizable face in the NEXTEL Cup Series garage and one of only a handful of women working on the competition side of the sport. The native of Shakopee, Minn., has worked for Hendrick Motorsports since 1999, but soon she'll be taking a hiatus from air-pressure gauges and tire-wear trends to take on the role of new mom. Smokstad, who joined the No. 25 team in 2005, and husband Craig are expecting their first child in early September. The Smokstads anticipate that this weekend or next will be their last at the track together until the baby is born.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GOLDER: Chris Golder, shock specialist for the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet team, will celebrate his 27th birthday on Thursday. The Alpharetta, Ga., native, known simply as "Golder" by his teammates, holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech and has been with the No. 25 team since 2005.

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CASEY'S CROWD: Mears will greet fans and sign autographs at 3:45 p.m. local time on Saturday at the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC souvenir hauler outside Daytona International Speedway.

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CASEY MEARS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC MONTE CARLO SS: (ON THE IMPORTANCE OF WORKING WELL WITH OTHERS AT DAYTONA.) "Obviously, at a place like Daytona, you want to focus on working with your teammates, but at the same time, I think you definitely want to establish good relationships with as many guys as you can out there so they respect what you're doing and feel like they are safe around you. You need those relationships to get to the front and stay there."

MEARS: (ON WHEN IT BECOMES 'EVERY DRIVER FOR HIMSELF' AT DAYTONA.) "I tend to want to stay with a teammate or drafting partner for as long as I can, even up until right before the end, because two paired together is stronger than one. Working with someone down to the wire can put you in a better position to take a risk at the end and to make a big move off that last turn for the win."

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DARIAN GRUBB, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC MONTE CARLO SS: (ON REACHING THE HALFWAY POINT OF THE SEASON.) "It feels good to reach the halfway point of the season and have our cars performing well. It's about consistency at this point. We had a string of bad luck at the beginning of the season, as well as an expected period of adjustment, but the team has really started to come together. It felt great to get our first win for the National Guard and GMAC, and we'd like to get another one. But our main goal is to make the Chase -- that's a challenging but reachable goal for us. We've got to be very solid and bring home top 10s to make it."

GRUBB: (ON WHAT GRADE HE WOULD GIVE THE NO. 25 TEAM FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEASON.) "I'd give us a B-plus so far this year. We've definitely got room to grow and improve, but the tools are all there. We're excited about the rest of the year."