PREVIEW: CASEY MEARS (NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC MONTE CARLO SS)
VENUE: KANSAS SPEEDWAY (1.5-MILE TRI-OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES (RACE 29 OF 36)
EVENT: SUNDAY, SEPT. 30, 2007 (267 LAPS, 400 MILES)

PICKING UP STEAM: Casey Mears, driver of the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet, earned his second top-10 result in as many weeks when he finished sixth in last Sunday's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. It was a career-best effort for Mears at "The Monster Mile" and upped his total of top-10 finishes for the season to eight.

SO CLOSE AT KANSAS: Mears nearly won last year's NEXTEL Cup Series event at Kansas Speedway, finishing second to Tony Stewart after both drivers ran out of fuel on the final lap of the race. In four career Cup Series starts at the 1.5-mile tri-oval, Mears has led 15 laps and recorded two top-10 finishes.

DON'T TOUCH THAT CHASSIS: Crew chief Darian Grubb has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 357 for this weekend's NEXTEL Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. The car visited Victory Lane earlier this year when Mears and the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet team won the annual 600-mile NEXTEL Cup event at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Chassis No. 357 also clocked the fastest qualifying time at Chicagoland Speedway -- Kansas' sister track -- in July, earning Mears his third career Cup Series pole award. He went on to finish fifth in that race.

BACK TO DAYTONA: On Tuesday, Mears and the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet team participated in a one-day Goodyear tire test at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The team utilized Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 447, which also logged laps during Cup Series testing at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway earlier this month.

PIT-ROAD PROWESS: The No. 25 National Guard/GMAC over-the-wall crew claimed its second Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge win of the season by spending the least amount of time on pit road during last Sunday's 400-mile race at Dover. The No. 25 crew will be awarded $11,000 by Checkers/Rally's for winning the weekly competition.

CREW CAM: This weekend, fans at home will be able to experience pit stops through the eyes of Ben Fischbeck, front-tire carrier for the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet team. The Waynesville, Mo., native will wear a "crew cam" during ESPN's coverage of Sunday's NEXTEL Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. In addition to his duties with the No. 25 team, Fischbeck also serves as the front-tire carrier for Hendrick Motorsports' No. 24 Busch Series team. He has worked at Hendrick Motorsports since 2001.

KANSAS ROOTS: Mears was born and raised in Bakersfield, Calif., but his family has strong ties to Kansas. Mears' grandfather, Bill Mears, lived in Wichita, Kan., for many years and raced stock cars at various local tracks across the state. Bill Mears' sons, Roger and Rick, were also born in Wichita and spent part of their childhood there before the family relocated to California in 1954. Roger Mears, father of Casey Mears, is a former off-road racing star, and Rick Mears is a four-time Indianapolis 500 champion.

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MEARS, CASEY MEARS: Casey Mears will greet fans and sign autographs at 9 a.m. local time on Sunday at the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC souvenir hauler outside Kansas Speedway.

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CASEY MEARS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC MONTE CARLO SS: (ON HIS COMFORT LEVEL AT KANSAS.) "It seems like the mile and a half tracks are the places that have best suited my driving style since I came over from open-wheel cars. Chicago and Kansas were the easiest tracks for me to adapt to from the start. I'm not sure if that's because of the speed there or something else, but I feel very confident at those places."

MEARS: (ON KANSAS SPEEDWAY'S AGING PROCESS.) "I think the harder tire we run now has really helped open up newer tracks like Kansas. The way the tire wears caters to guys running some different lines and utilizing the middle and the top of the track."

MEARS: (ON RECORDING TWO TOP-10 FINISHES IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS.) "We're definitely focused on finishing the season strong with our No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet and getting to that 13th spot. The past two weeks were a great way for us to start that final push, and hopefully we can make another trip to Victory Lane before the year is over."