PREVIEW: CASEY MEARS (NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC CHEVROLET)
VENUE: LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY (1.5-MILE TRI-OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES (RACE THREE OF 36)
EVENT: SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 2007 (267 LAPS, 400.5 MILES)

29 CANDLES: Casey Mears, driver of the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet, will celebrate his 29th birthday on Monday, March 12, one day after the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. What tops his birthday wish list? A weekend win at the 1.5-mile oval, which is one of Mears' best tracks on the NASCAR circuit.

NO PLACE LIKE VEGAS: In four career NEXTEL Cup starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Mears has never finished outside the top 15 and owns three consecutive top-10 results.

CHASSIS 357 FOR MEARS: Crew chief Darian Grubb has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 357 for this weekend's NEXTEL Cup race at Las Vegas. The car is a go-to chassis in the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC team stable, having logged 1,715 laps during the 2006 NEXTEL Cup season.

149 AND COUNTING: Hendrick Motorsports' next NEXTEL Cup victory will be the organization's 150th at NASCAR's highest level.

WE'RE WITH THE GUARD: On Thursday, Mears and members of the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevy team will spend the afternoon at Camp Williams, a training site operated by the Utah Army National Guard about 26 miles south of Salt Lake City. During their visit, the team will ride in Black Hawk helicopters and participate in military training exercises such as artillery practice, a ropes-course race and hand-to-hand combat drills.

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CASEY'S CROWD: Casey Mears will greet fans and sign autographs at 9:30 a.m. local time on Sunday at the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC souvenir hauler outside Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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CASEY MEARS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC CHEVROLET: (ON HIS LAS VEGAS MEMORIES.) "I grew up out in Las Vegas, really. My dad (Roger Mears) raced there probably three or four times a year, and I can remember going there ever since I was 5 years old. When you're a kid, Vegas is a pretty colorful place -- it definitely makes an impression, and I always enjoy going back. A win there would be awesome."

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Roger Mears, father of Casey Mears, is a former off-road racing star and four-time Baja 1000 multi-class champion. During his versatile career, Roger Mears also competed in Indy cars and qualified eighth for the 1983 Indianapolis 500. In 1995, he made his foray into the NASCAR world and entered four Craftsman Truck Series races. In three of those races, his truck ran with a number borrowed from team owner Rick Hendrick. As fate would have it, that number was 25.)

ROGER MEARS, FATHER OF CASEY MEARS: (ON MEMORIES OF TAKING A YOUNG CASEY TO OFF-ROAD RACES IN LAS VEGAS.) "I think Casey made his first visit to Las Vegas as a baby. For some of the races, we'd be there for two weeks at a time, and I remember his mom (Carol Mears) would carry him up and down the strip during off-road contingencies (awards), right in downtown Vegas. As he got older, he was more and more interested in the cars, and we had a little desert buggy he'd ride out there when he was 4 or 5. He absolutely loved it."

ROGER MEARS: (ON REVERSING ROLES WITH HIS SON.) "It's pretty special to be able to watch Casey race and be there every weekend to support him. When he was growing up, he was always at the race track and supporting me. So, we've changed roles a little bit, and that's pretty neat, especially when we come to a place like Las Vegas where we have a lot of great memories."

ROGER MEARS: (ON DRIVING THE NO. 25 TRUCK IN 1995.) "I was just thinking about that the other day -- I had almost forgotten about that until now. Rick (Hendrick) let us use that number when I was driving the Budweiser truck for a few races, and now it seems like it must have been a hint at the future. It's just a neat piece of history to have, and hopefully it's a little bit of good luck."

CASEY MEARS: (ON THE NEW LAS VEGAS LAYOUT.) "So far, I like it. The biggest thing is that it seems like they've opened it up to where there are maybe two or more grooves. It's a little bumpier than what you like to see out of a new track, but at the same time, I think that adds a little character and makes it a little more difficult to get around. It also creates better racing scenarios when the guy in front of you makes mistakes and creates some passing opportunities."

CASEY MEARS: (ON REBOUNDING FROM A DISAPPOINTING RUN AT FONTANA.) "Last weekend had its highs and lows. We had a great run in the Busch race, but our No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet was a ways off on Sunday. It was frustrating for me, Darian (Grubb) and everyone on the team. But during the race, Darian and I had good communication -- we kept talking and trying new things. That kind of communication is only going to make us better. Hopefully, we can make good things happen in Vegas."

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DARIAN GRUBB, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC CHEVROLET: (ON RACING WITH NEW VARIABLES AT LAS VEGAS.) "This weekend, I think it's going to be about finding comfort and surviving the race. The new asphalt has a lot of grip, but the surface is also very rough, which can cause handling issues. The preseason testing there led Goodyear to change the tire compounds and NASCAR to shrink down the fuel cells, so most everyone will be starting from a clean sheet of paper."