Casey Mears: Coca-Cola 600 Winner, Multi-Series Driver and Off-Road Racer

Casey Mears is an American driver who has raced in IndyCar, NASCAR's national series and off-road events. He is best known for winning the 2007 Coca-Cola 600 and for a Cup career that moved between Chip Ganassi Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing and Germain Racing.

Who is Casey Mears and where did his racing start?

Casey James Mears was born on March 12, 1978, and grew up in Bakersfield, California. The Mears name is a long-running one in motorsport, and he is part of that family. His uncle is Rick Mears, a multiple Indianapolis 500 winner, and his father is Roger Mears, a figure in IndyCar and off-road racing.

He raced go-karts for a season in 1991, then began off-road events in SuperLites racing in 1992, frequently placing in the top three.

Sprint cars arrived in 1994, and a third place in the Jim Russell USAC Triple Crown series followed. He won the USAC title the next year, a result that marked his move into open-wheel racing.

A Coca-Cola 600 winner on a fuel gamble, a Rolex 24 champion from a racing family, and a driver who kept finding new series to race in.

How did Mears progress through Indy Lights and CART?

Mears made his Indy Lights debut at the 1996 Cleveland Grand Prix and finished eighth. His Indy Lights results came with a full-time schedule in the years that followed. He ran the full Indy Lights championship from the year after his debut, and in 1999 he finished second, losing the title by fourteen points.

That season he also became the fourth driver in the series' history to complete every lap of a season. In 2000 he took a first victory at the Grand Prix of Houston in October.

After testing Indy Cars for several teams that year, he was offered a third car by Team Rahal for the California Speedway race in October. He qualified fifteenth, led ten laps and finished fourth in his CART debut, his best career result at that point.

He then ran three IRL events early in 2001 and failed to make the Indianapolis 500. Later that season he filled in for the injured Alex Zanardi and scored one top-ten finish in four starts. His CART record stood at five starts with one top-five, and his three IRL starts yielded no top-fives.

How did Mears's NASCAR debut and early years unfold?

His NASCAR debut came in 2001, a Busch Series start at Homestead-Miami Speedway in a Cicci-Welliver Racing car numbered 66. He started 21st and finished 28th. That modest first result set the tone for his early NASCAR seasons. He was learning the series on a part-time basis.

When Wayne Jesel bought the team, Mears ran the full following season with it and ended 21st in the standings, with two top-tens.

How did Mears's Chip Ganassi years go?

Chip Ganassi Racing picked Mears for the No. 41 Target Dodge in 2003, a move many did not expect. He finished 35th in points in his rookie Cup season without a top-ten finish in any race, and he won two poles in 2004.

Throughout 2003 he drove several ARCA races for Ganassi, winning three times, including at Michigan and in a sweep of both Pocono races. He stayed in the No. 41 for two more seasons.

He came close to several wins. In the 2004 Sirius at the Glen he led late, only to be passed with twelve laps to go, and he finished fourth.

At Homestead in 2005 he was in command for the last 100 laps of the Ford 400, but a yellow flag with sixteen laps left wiped out his one-second advantage. A pit stop cost him the lead and, with it, the win.

A planned separate car with Home123 sponsorship fell through, and he switched to the Texaco/Havoline Dodge that carried No. 42, replacing Jamie McMurray.

Early in 2006 he finished second in the Daytona 500, passing Ryan Newman at the line while Jimmie Johnson won. It was the best finish of his career at that point.

How did Mears win the 2007 Coca-Cola 600?

Casey Mears won the 2007 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, his only Cup victory, after a fuel gamble. With five laps remaining he moved ahead, as most lead-lap rivals had come in for fuel, and he stretched his tank to the finish.

The win came in his first season with Hendrick Motorsports, driving the No. 25 Chevrolet with National Guard and GMAC sponsorship. He had moved there after announcing in June 2006 that he would replace Brian Vickers.

He ran out of fuel moments after the checkered flag, a finish that left the win intact.

Earlier that summer he had also taken his first NASCAR victory, a Busch Series race at Chicagoland Speedway on July 8, 2006, coasting home after running out of fuel.

How did Mears's time at Hendrick and RCR end?

In 2008 Mears moved to the No. 5 Kellogg's/Carquest Chevrolet, a car Kyle Busch had previously driven. That Hendrick period ended with his 2009 release from the team. The team produced no wins, and Hendrick let Mears go, bringing in Mark Martin.

Richard Childress Racing announced on August 23, 2008 that Mears would drive its No. 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet. His RCR stint ran from that August through the 2009 season. He recorded two top-tens in his first RCR season, though he struggled through the first seven races before the crew chiefs were switched.

In October 2009 he received his third crew chief of the year, beginning at Talladega. Todd Berrier moved to the No. 31 team, and Doug Randolph took over the No. 07. Mears struggled with the change, and his best finish was 19th at Homestead.

The team's future was uncertain at the time, which is why Childress kept Berrier within the organisation. Mears was released by Richard Childress Racing after the 2009 season.

What happened to Mears's 2010 season?

Mears signed with Keyed-Up Motorsports for the No. 90 Chevrolet in January 2010, but he could not get into the 2010 Daytona 500 field. That DNQ ended a streak of 252 consecutive starts, his first failure to qualify in his career.

Further failures to qualify followed at Fontana, Las Vegas and Atlanta, and the team later released him. He then stood by for Joe Gibbs Racing while Denny Hamlin recovered from surgery, but Hamlin did not need a replacement.

From 27 April 2010 he drove Tommy Baldwin's No. 36 team briefly. On 13 May he replaced Brian Vickers at Dover in the No. 83 Team Red Bull car, after Vickers fell ill.

At Michigan in June he wrecked his Red Bull teammate Scott Speed while racing near the back. Speed criticised the incident, and Reed Sorenson took over. Mears returned at New Hampshire on 27 June and finished 29th, two laps down.

How did Mears's Germain Racing years unfold?

In September 2010 Mears joined Germain Racing in the No. 13 GEICO Toyota, and he kept the seat through 2011. He finished 31st in points that year, after a second Daytona 500 failure to qualify caused by two engine failures during Speedweeks.

In 2012 the team switched from Toyota to Ford, backed by Roush Fenway Racing know-how and Roush-Yates engines. Mears earned pole for the Irwin Tools Night Race on 24 August 2012, as rain wiped out Friday's qualifying, and finished 30th in points.

GEICO sponsored Mears and Germain full-time for 2013 and 2014. At Daytona's 2013 Coke Zero 400 he set the team's best oval result, ninth, and he ended the year 24th in points.

For 2014 Germain partnered with Richard Childress Racing to run Chevrolets. Mears opened the year with tenth at the Daytona 500. At Richmond he ran inside the top ten for a stretch, then a fight with Marcos Ambrose broke out over a late incident.

A $15,000 fine and one month's probation followed two days afterwards. Across 2014 he produced fourteen top-twenty finishes, three top-tens and a top-five, ending 26th in points.

In 2015 his season began with a sixth-place run at Daytona followed by a fifteenth at Atlanta. In July his contract was extended, and in November GEICO extended its partnership with Mears and Germain through 2018.

The 2016 season was rougher. At Daytona he was penalised for speeding late in the race and finished 32nd, then recovered to fourteenth at Atlanta. A small accident at Talladega ended his chance at the win. In November Germain announced that Ty Dillon would take over the No. 13 in 2017.

How did Mears's part-time Cup and Xfinity years go?

In 2017 Mears ran fourteen Xfinity races for Biagi-DenBeste Racing in the No. 98 Ford, with a best finish of ninth. His schedule grew after Aric Almirola was injured, adding Pocono and a second Daytona race. Those additions brought his total to fourteen starts.

He returned to the Cup Series in 2019 with Germain, driving a Chevrolet numbered 27 at the Daytona 500. He started 40th and finished 40th after an early shunt with Parker Kligerman. Those later appearances kept his name in the Cup garage.

In 2023 Mears said he hoped to reach 500 Cup starts and to run an eleven-race schedule. Ties with Legacy Motor Club's Jimmie Johnson, a co-owner, prompted speculation that he would join that organisation.

After five years away, MBM Motorsports and its Garage 66 entry announced his comeback at the Cook Out 400. He finished 35th, eleven laps off the pace, and later ran Daytona, Talladega, Martinsville and Phoenix for the team. His best result was 18th at Talladega.

The 2026 Daytona 500 brought another qualifying run for Garage 66. He made the field through his Duel result and finished 32nd, five laps down.

How did Mears perform in Grand-Am and the Rolex 24?

In 2005 Mears shared a Chip Ganassi Lexus Riley with Scott Dixon and Darren Manning, finishing sixth. The following year the trio of Mears, Dixon and Dan Wheldon won the 24 Hours of Daytona. Their win came in the Daytona Prototype class, with Mears among the drivers.

Their 723 laps in 24 hours set a new mark for the Daytona Prototype class. He is recorded as the first NASCAR regular with a full-time schedule to take the Rolex 24 outright.

In 2009 he was one of four drivers in the No. 2 Gentleman Jack Pontiac-Crawford, alongside Andy Wallace, Rob Finley and Danica Patrick. Electrical and handling issues dropped them to eighth at the finish.

How did Mears's off-road and Stadium Super Truck racing develop?

Desert racing became part of his work in 2019, when he debuted at SCORE International's Baja 1000. He shared a No. 42 Ford Raptor trophy truck with Doug Fortin. Engine trouble after a mud puddle left them 28th overall and twelfth in the Trophy Truck class.

He returned to the Baja 1000 in 2021, co-driving a No. 77 trophy truck with Robby Gordon. The pair finished 13th overall and seventh in class.

Mears took a test session in a Stadium Super Truck in January 2017. The series belongs to Robby Gordon, who once raced in NASCAR, and its trucks run V8 engines rather than the V6s his father Roger raced in stadium trucks.

His first start in the series came at Lake Elsinore in December 2017. A seventh in his heat initially kept him out of the main event, but a fourth in the next day's heat put him into the feature, where he finished fifth.

The next season brought his first Road America start, in the No. 25 truck, standing in for Arie Luyendyk Jr., and he earned sixth- and twelfth-place runs there. Later stops included Glen Helen Regional Park and the Race of Champions.

In 2019 he took part in the Stadium Super Trucks weekend at Honda Indy Toronto, and later he entered the Mid-Ohio weekend, finishing second in the Friday round.

Career highlights at a glance