The Official Website of Casey Mears and the Mears Gang

PREVIEW: CASEY MEARS (NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST CHEVROLET) VENUE: DARLINGTON RACEWAY
(1.366-MILE EGG-SHAPED OVAL)

CIRCUIT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
(RACE 11 OF 36) EVENT: MAY 10, 2008 (367 LAPS, 500 MILES)

NO. 5 TEAM AT DARLINGTON: Alan Gustafson has earned one top-10 finish -- a seventh on May 13, 2006 -- in three NASCAR Sprint Cup events as the No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST crew chief at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

SIGNIFICANT VICTORY: One of Gustafson's most cherished NASCAR memories happened in 2003 when he worked as the No. 5 team engineer and went to Darlington's Victory Lane with the "Iceman" Terry Labonte. The victory was significant as it was the final Southern 500 held on Labor Day weekend at the track. The win was also the last of Labonte's NASCAR career.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY: Casey Mears' mother, Carol, will join other NASCAR moms in Saturday's pre-race festivities. The mothers will be introduced with their sons during driver introductions. They also will give the command for their sons to start their engines and begin the 500-mile race. (Images of Mears with his mother are available upon request.)

HENDRICK AT DARLINGTON: Hendrick Motorsports has posted 12 wins, 33 top-five finishes and 56 top-10s in the 48 Cup races the team has started at Darlington Raceway.

STREAK INTACT: Hendrick Motorsports' streak of top-10 finishes improved to 75 Sprint Cup races after last week's event at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway when Jeff Gordon took ninth. The last time a Hendrick driver wasn't in the top 10 was April 9, 2006. Finishing 11th, Jimmie Johnson was Hendrick's top performer that day at Texas Motor Speedway.

POINTS PROGRESS: Mears and the Kellogg's/CARQUEST team continue to advance through the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, improving one spot to take 23rd after last weekend's event at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Mears has gained 10 positions in the standings during the past six races.

WE ARE TIGERS: On Tuesday, May 13, the Kellogg's/CARQUEST team will film its own version of the famed Frosted Flakes "We Are Tigers" chant. The video will be used on www.ESPN.com/EarnYourStripes and also will be posted on www.youtube.com. Kellogg's uses the chant, made popular in a 2004 Frosted Flakes commercial, to encourage kids to earn their stripes by eating healthy and staying fit. Visit www.frostedflakes.com for more information.

ROAD COURSE TEST: The Kellogg's/CARQUEST team will test next week at Virginia International Raceway to prepare for next month's Sprint Cup race at Infineon Raceway. Mears has posted one top-five finish and two top-10s in 10 career road course races. Both top-10 finishes occurred in 2004.

DARLINGTON CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 497 for Saturday's race at Darlington. Chassis 497 has not been raced, but was tested at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway last week.

TESTING 1, 2, 3, 4: All four Hendrick Motorsports' Sprint Cup teams spent April 29-30 testing at Nashville Superspeedway. The teams shared information throughout the two-day session at the 1.33-mile track.

AUTOGRAPHS: Casey Mears will greet fans and sign autographs at the Kellogg's/CARQUEST souvenir trailer at 4:15 p.m. local time on Saturday.

CASEY MEARS, DRIVER, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST CHEVROLET (ON DARLINGTON RACEWAY.): "Darlington is a special racetrack for me just because it's so fun to race on. I know that a lot of people think purely of the history of the track and everything that's happened here. But, for me, it's just a really good race. It's fun to drive, and I'm sure it's fun for the fans to watch. This track is completely different than any other one we go to. It's a great time."

MEARS (ON THE NEW TRACK SURFACE.): "I went down to the tire test that Jeff (Gordon) did in March. I got a good look at the track then. I won't really get an idea of how to drive it differently or anything until I get out there. But Jeff said that you actually drive the new surface pretty similarly to the old one. It's just quicker and smoother now."

MEARS (ON HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS MOTHER, CAROL.): "My mom is a great lady. She has been there for me and my racing career since the beginning. She still does a lot for me and my company, Casey Mears Inc. She's just always there and is honestly one of the best people I know.

"It's cool what Darlington does for all of the mothers on Mother's Day weekend. I know that it gives my mom a good perspective of what I do each weekend with walking across the stage and waving to the fans -- what I see and hear every race day. I know that every year she wears heels and every year she is so nervous and worried that she's going to fall. She doesn't really like the steps much."

MEARS (ON HOW TESTING AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY WENT.): "Testing went really well for us at Nashville. We sorted through a bunch of setups, and I think what we found will really help us in the future. We focused on furthering our communication skills as a team as well. It was a very positive test. No pressure at all. I think it's great, too, that Rick (Hendrick) was there to support us all."

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST CHEVROLET (ON HIS SOUTHERN 500 VICTORY WITH TERRY LABONTE.): "Being on that team back then, it felt like we had struggled for years to be performing like we should have. We worked hard. Every person on that team worked hard. And that year, we kind of turned it all around. Terry (Labonte) was competing for wins, and we had a lot of top-fives and top-10s. It felt like we got back to where we belonged. Winning that race was just a culmination of everyone's work and desire to be on top. The Southern 500 is so prestigious in itself, but that was the last one on Labor Day weekend, and it was the last win in Terry's storied career. It was just really special. I've never seen all of the competitors react more positively to someone winning as they did to Terry that day. It was incredible."

GUSTAFSON (ON HOW THE NEW TRACK SURFACE WILL AFFECT THE RACE.): "The track is going to be really, really smooth now. We're actually going from one extreme to the other -- from extremely rough and hard on tires to incredibly smooth with a lot of grip. It's a huge transition for everyone. There's not going to be a lot of tire strategy anymore. We used to come in for new tires after four or five laps. That's just not going to happen anymore. I'm not a driver, but just from what I've seen, I think the track will be easier to drive. There are no more bumps. And the surface isn't as abrasive. It's not going to be as hard to get ahold of the track."

GUSTAFSON (ON HIS MOTHER, RITA.): "My mother is a wonderful woman. She has always supported me, and I can honestly say she is my No. 1 fan. I'm still kind of baffled by how big of a deal everything with my job still is to her. After all of these years, she's still impressed by NASCAR and what I do in it."

GUSTAFSON (ON THE NASHVILLE TEST.): "The test went really well. It was good to be on track. We tried a lot of new things that we've developed since the start of the year. It was nice. We're bringing the car from the test to Darlington so I guess that says how much faith we have in what we learned. We made some real gains. These new cars are kind of boxed in, and it's tough to work around all that. But I do feel like we definitely made some gains."

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