PREVIEW: CASEY MEARS (NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC CHEVROLET)
VENUE: LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY (1.5-MILE QUAD-OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES (RACE 31 OF 36)
EVENT: SATURDAY, OCT. 13, 2007 (334 LAPS, 501 MILES)

TIME TO DEFEND: For the first time in his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series career, Casey Mears will return to a track as the defending winner. Mears won the May 27 event at Lowe's Motor Speedway, marking his first victory in NASCAR's premier division and kicking off an impressive run by the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet team. Mears has recorded 13 top-15 finishes, nine top-10s and five top-fives in his past 19 races.

MEMORIAL DAY MEMORIES: Mears' victory at Lowe's Motor Speedway was an emotional one. Not only was it his first career NEXTEL Cup win, but it was also a special event for one of his primary sponsors, the National Guard. That weekend, the team fielded a special paint scheme honoring National Guard soldiers who had lost their lives in the Global War on Terror.

MEARS' MOMENTUM: If Mears and the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC team had made the 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, they would currently be ranked fourth in the standings, just 73 points behind leader and teammate Jeff Gordon. Mears is the only driver to have scored a top-10 finish in each of the first four Chase races this season.

AMAZING TURNAROUND: With six races remaining on the 2007 schedule, Mears sits a mere 116 points back of 13th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the NEXTEL Cup standings. After the season's 11th race, the No. 25 team was 35th in points with just one top-10 finish to its credit.

TOP-10s TELL THE STORY: Beginning with the May 27 race at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Mears and the National Guard/GMAC team have clicked off nine top-10 finishes. Only four NEXTEL Cup drivers -- Jeff Gordon (14), Tony Stewart (14), Jimmie Johnson (11) and Denny Hamlin (10) -- have recorded more during that span.

HAIL THE VICTORS: On Wednesday, Mears and the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC team will be presented with their winner's rings from the May race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The team-only event will take place at Hendrick Motorsports.

SWEEPING TREND: In the past three NEXTEL Cup seasons, the driver who won the May event at Lowe's Motor Speedway also won there in October. If history repeats itself, Mears will become the third driver in four seasons to complete the sweep, joining Kasey Kahne (2006) and teammate Jimmie Johnson (2004 and 2005).

HENDRICK AT LOWE'S: Hendrick Motorsports has won six of the last nine NEXTEL Cup races at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Mears posted the most recent win at the 1.5-mile track in May, with teammate Jimmie Johnson contributing five victories. Rick Hendrick leads all car owners with 14 Cup-level wins there.

GRUBB'S CHOICE: National Guard/GMAC crew chief Darian Grubb has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 357 for this Saturday's race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Chassis 357 is the same car that visited victory lane at LMS in May.

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CASEY MEARS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC CHEVROLET: (ON RETURNING TO LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY AS THE DEFENDING WINNER.) "I'm excited. We had a really good car there -- a top-five car the whole night. Obviously, the times change when you go back. The temperatures change, the track changes a little bit. You got to keep up with all that, but I feel very good about going back and having as good a run as we did (in May)."

MEARS: (ON HAVING THE NATIONAL GUARD AS A SPONSOR.) "I think that a lot of people follow what we do. It's impressive. When you sign up with the National Guard, whether you are on the race team or you are a National Guard soldier, you are a part of their team. That Memorial Day win was huge for everybody. As soon as you sign on with the Guard, you are signing up with 350,000 strong and all of them support you unconditionally, which is really cool."

MEARS: (ON GETTING HIS FIRST NASCAR NEXTEL CUP VICTORY EARLIER THIS YEAR AT LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY.) "Anything else I've ever raced in my whole career, I've won races in. To be in a series for four years and not win a race was difficult. Crossing (the start-finish line) and getting that checkered flag for the first time, whatever came out was going to come out. I didn't really have any control over what I said or how I said it. It was definitely an emotional victory and a lot of relief lifted off my shoulders. It was pure reality. I wasn't putting on a show. It was all natural what was coming out. I was very excited when we won, and it couldn't happen with a better group of guys."

MEARS: (ON HIS FIRST NEXTEL CUP SERIES WIN AT LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY AND HOW THE NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC TEAM CONTINUES TO IMPROVE.) "It was a good boost for everybody, but the next weekend it was back to reality. We backed it up with a couple good finishes at Pocono and Michigan right after the win. We are working real hard at picking it up. We keep gaining in the points as far as who we are racing and trying to get to that 13th spot. We just have to continue to make progress."

MEARS: (ON WHAT HE REMEMBERS THE MOST AFTER WINNING HIS FIRST NEXTEL CUP SERIES RACE AT LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN MAY.) "Hearing 'one lap to go.' I remember what the guys said on the radio (after the race), and seeing my friends and family in victory lane. It was huge -- my parents being there and Jimmie (Johnson) coming in at the end. He is like a brother to me. It was just great to see him. A lot of guys from the 41 and 42 team came by from Ganassi. I've made a lot of good friends over the years, and to see them all come over to victory lane was big."