PREVIEW: CASEY MEARS (NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC IMPALA SS)
VENUE: RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (.75-MILE D-SHAPED OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES (RACE 10 OF 36)
EVENT: SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2007 (400 LAPS, 300 MILES)

RICHMOND RECORD: Casey Mears, driver of the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Impala SS, has shown steady improvement at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway during his first four years on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series circuit. Last September, he recorded a career-best result at the track when he finished 11th in the 2006 Chevy Rock & Roll 400. Mears also owns four top-15 qualifying efforts in eight career Cup Series starts at the .75-mile oval.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: This weekend, NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow will return to competition for the fourth time in 2007. Mears' best result in the new Impala SS came at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in March, when he finished 10th in the first-ever COT race. It was the 29-year-old driver's first top-10 Cup Series finish with Hendrick Motorsports.

THE RETURN OF CHASSIS 421: Crew chief Darian Grubb has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 421 for this weekend's NEXTEL Cup race at Richmond, which will be the first COT impound event this year. The car made its competition debut last month at Phoenix International Raceway, where it qualified 13th and finished 37th. In that race, Mears was running in the top 10 before a lap-42 accident left his car with significant damage. The No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet team also tested Chassis No. 421 at Richmond in early April.

THE 25 AT RICHMOND: On Sept. 7, 1986, the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team secured its first win at Richmond International Raceway when Tim Richmond led 51 laps en route to victory over runner-up Dale Earnhardt. The No. 25 team earned its second Richmond victory when Joe Nemechek won the May 2003 Cup Series event there.

MEARS ON THE HILL: On Tuesday, Mears attended the Motorsports Coalition Fly-In reception in Washington, D.C., on behalf of NASCAR. The coalition met with members of Congress on Capitol Hill to discuss topics that affect the entire motor sports industry, including NASCAR, IRL and NHRA tracks and teams. Mears was joined by NASCAR drivers Jeff Burton and David Stremme, as well as Jim Hunter, NASCAR vice president of corporate communications, and Marcus Jadotte, managing director for NASCAR public affairs.

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MEARS AND COMPANY: Casey Mears will greet fans and sign autographs at 3:15 p.m. local time on Saturday at the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC souvenir hauler outside Richmond International Raceway.

AUTOGRAPH SESSION: Mears will sign autographs at Kroger's Sixth Annual "Night With The Drivers" event to benefit Victory Junction Gang Camp from 6:30-7:30 p.m. local time on Thursday. The event takes place at the Richmond International Raceway Amphitheater, and Mears will appear on behalf of Pepsi.

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CASEY MEARS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC IMPALA SS: (ON WRECKING WHILE TRYING TO ENTER PIT ROAD AT TALLADEGA LAST WEEKEND.) "The more we looked at it, what happened at Talladega was just a really bad miscommunication. Jimmie (Johnson) is one of my best friends, if not my best friend, and I know he would never mean to do something like that. There's no animosity, and we're not upset with each other -- just with the situation. This week, we talked about how we can improve communication between all of our teams during the race to make sure something like this doesn't happen again."

MEARS: (ON RACING THE IMPALA SS AT RICHMOND.) "There's no reason why we can't get a solid top-10 finish at Richmond and compete for the win. It's taken me some time to adjust to the new Impala SS, and I think most drivers and teams would tell you they've experienced the same thing. The challenge is adjusting your feedback to the team because the car is slower and you're dealing with less grip. At first, I'd tell my team I was a 20 tight on a scale of one to 10 because it was so different. But pretty soon I got back to my normal one-to-10 scale -- it just takes some time to feel out what's relative."

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DARIAN GRUBB, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC IMPALA SS: (ON THE IMPOUND WEEKEND AT RICHMOND.) "Based on testing at Richmond and the way our car performed in Phoenix a few weeks ago, we're excited about getting to the race track for our first impound event with the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Impala SS. I think the impound format will allow Hendrick Motorsports' preparation to show through."