YEAR-BY-YEAR NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES RECAP
2006 Finished 14th in series points.
Finished with two top fives and eight top 10s.
Earned two runner-up finishes,
in the Daytona 500 and at Kansas.
Opened the season with eight consecutive weeks in the NASCAR NEXTEL
Cup Top 10.
2006 was the final of Mears three consecutive seasons driving for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix
Sabates.
He was named the 2007 driver of Hendrick Motorsports No. 25 car on June 14, 2006.
2005 Finished 22nd in series points.
Recorded three top-five finishes and nine top-10 finishes.
Finished in
fourth place at both Texas events.
Captured two top-five finishes and five top-10 finishes in the final 10 events.
Led a total of 145 laps.
2004 Finished 22nd in series points.
. Had his first career pole at Pocono in August and followed up the effort with
a pole at Indianapolis for the Brickyard 400.
Posted his career-best finish with a fourth at Watkins Glen, his lone
top-five effort of the season.
Led 88 laps.
Only driver in the Ganassi stable to win a pole in 2004.
2003 Finished 35th in points in his rookie season.
Struggled throughout his rookie season, finishing with 10 DNFs.
Led nine laps.
Had 11 top-15 qualifying efforts.
Ran 14 NASCAR Busch Series races and finished with four
top 10s.
PREVIOUS RACING HISTORY
Won career-first stock car race in the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) event June 14, 2003 at Michigan.
Later that season, won back-to-back ARCA races at Pocono July 25 and 26, 2003.
Finished 21st in his rookie season
in the NASCAR Busch Series in 2002, scoring one top five, that coming at Talladega.
Announced in December
2002 that he would drive No. 41 Target Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, following his first season
in the NASCAR Busch Series.
Also had two top 10s in 34 starts with his highest start, an outside pole, coming
at Nashville.
In 2001, scored two top-10 finishes in four starts in CART after replacing Alex Zanardi, who was
involved in a serious accident.
Finished ninth at Talladega in his lone ARCA start in 2001.
In 2000, finished third
in the Indy Lights Series, scoring his first win at the Grand Prix of Houston.
Also made career-first CART start at
California Speedway, finishing a career-best fourth.
Successfully completed rookie test for Indy 500 in 2000.
In
1999, finished second in Indy Lights Series and became only the fourth driver in series history to complete every lap.
Won three races in off-road stadium SuperLites in 1996.
Won 1995 Jim Russell USAC Triple Crown
Championship at 17.
NOTEWORTHY
Mears is the nephew of four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears.
He is the son of two-time Indy 500 starter and offroad
legend Roger Mears.
Was the second youngest driver in USAC history to win a feature race (Mesa Marin, 1994)
at 16.
Began racing BMX bicycles at age four.
Mears home was featured on an episode of MTV Cribs.
