PREVIEW: CASEY MEARS 
VENUE: TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY 

(2.66-MILE TRI-OVAL) CIRCUIT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 9 OF 36) 
EVENT: APRIL 27, 2008 (188 LAPS, 500 MILES)

-NEWS & NOTES -APPEARANCES -QUOTES -
ONLINE RESOURCES -CONTACT INFORMATION-

MEARS AT TALLADEGA: Casey Mears earned his career-best Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway finish last October when he placed sixth in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. In 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at the track, he has recorded a total of three top-10 finishes -- including back-to-back eighth-place results in 2004 -- on the circuit's largest track.

NO. 5 AT TALLADEGA: Crew chief Alan Gustafson and the No. 5 team have yet to earn a top-10 finish at Talladega. Still, the team has turned in strong performances, notably in October 2006 when it finished 11th after leading 10 laps.

AT RESTRICTOR-PLATE TRACKS: Mears, driver of the No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet, has had a strong showing in the three restrictor plate races this season. At Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Mears finished sixth in the Shootout and posted a fourth-place finish in the first Gatorade Duel. During the Daytona 500, he was running third when he was involved in an accident with only six laps to go.

RESTRICTOR PLATE HIGHLIGHTS: In the Feb. 17 Daytona 500, the season's only points-paying restrictor plate race thus far, Mears raced inside the top 15 for 149 of the 200 laps, and also had an average running position of 13.6 -- the 10th-best of all 43 competitors. Mears also completed 153 quality passes, the fifth-most among all competitors.

PREVIOUS TALLADEGA STATS: Calculating his performance in the past six Talladega races, NASCAR's loop data statistics have given Mears a sixth-place box score ranking. He also has proven himself as a "closer," passing 29 cars in the final 10 percent of laps in those six races, placing him second amongst all competitors.

HENDRICK AT TALLADEGA: Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon won both races at Talladega Superspeedway in 2007. In 146 starts, Hendrick has recorded 10 wins, 40 top-five finishes and 55 top-10s. Additionally, Hendrick's all-time drivers have combined to lead 1,794 laps at Talladega. That's 304 laps more than the all-time drivers of Richard Childress Racing who combined for the second-highest total with 1,490 laps.

TALLADEGA CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 481 for Sunday's race at Talladega. Chassis 481 finished fourth in the first Gatorade Duel at Daytona this year then spent 149 laps in the top 15 of the Daytona 500 before an accident on Lap 194.

AUTOGRAPHS: Casey Mears will greet fans and sign autographs at the Kellogg's/CARQUEST souvenir trailer at 9:20 a.m. local time on Sunday.

CASEY MEARS, DRIVER, NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET (ON THE STRATEGY OF "HANGING BACK" UNTIL THE LATER STAGES OF THE RACE.): "I see both sides of this strategy. We were smart by using it in the fall race at Talladega last year. It worked for us. We missed some of the big accidents because we were far enough back where we had reaction time to avoid them. But, honestly, it's not fun. Basically, all you're doing as the driver is riding for three-quarters of race. Hanging back takes the fun out of restrictor-plate racing. I'm sure the fans aren't real thrilled with it either because it makes the race a little less exciting if their driver is just hanging at the tail of the field. At the end of day, if everyone did this strategy, we could race a quarter of the laps and make it just as good of a race, just shorter. In the grand scheme of things it's not fun for the fans or the drivers, but it's kept us out of trouble and left us with some pretty good finishes. So I shouldn't complain."

MEARS (ON HIS IMPRESSIVE SPEEDWEEKS PERFORMANCE THIS YEAR.): "I really have to credit Hendrick Motorsports for that. This team caught on pretty early to how the Impala needs to run at superspeedways. We tested the car and figured even more out about it. When it was time to race, it all worked out really well, and I think we were very pleased with our Daytona performance this year. This was a new team, but you wouldn't have known it. I instantly clicked with Alan (Gustafson) and the team, and we were very relaxed and just did our jobs. It was like we were continuing on from last year, not starting a new one. And I think all of that preparation and relaxation showed in our performance."

MEARS (ON RELATING DAYTONA INFORMATION TO TALLADEGA.): "The Kellogg's/CARQUEST team can relate the speed we had at Daytona to Talladega, but not the handling. Handling doesn't play near the factor at Talladega that it does at Daytona. But, the fact that we had the speed we were looking for all of Daytona will make it easier for us to be competitive at Talladega. While the setups will be completely different, the thing that we'll take away is the good amount of speed we had. And, I believe since then, our engine department has found even more horsepower. It definitely makes it exciting to go back there."

MEARS (ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SPOTTERS AT RESTRICTOR PLATE TRACKS.): "I rely on my spotter for everything really. I know that I have to make a lot of my decisions based on what Eddie (Masencup) says. Don't get me wrong, a lot of decisions are the driver's choice, but you need to rely on your spotter, understand him and make sure you both are on the same page. The relationship you have with your spotter can be a make-or-break deal during a restrictor plate race."

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET (ON HOW A CAR HANDLES AT TALLADEGA.): "At Daytona, there's a bigger emphasis on handling. Some cars handle well and some don't, so they get strung out. It's not like there's one big pack of cars and five or six can hang back then catch up. The whole field strings out, so they're not creating this big hole or vacuum like you do at Talladega. It's really tough to catch up. Then when you do catch up, it's harder to pass. You're lifting in and out of the throttle and sliding around. It doesn't work at Daytona. At Talladega, handling doesn't come into play. You can pretty much go wide open all day long."

GUSTAFSON (ON THE "HANGING BACK" STRATEGY.): "That strategy works well at Talladega, but you have to be very, very patient. When you think you should go, you need to wait 10 more laps and then go. I think I have a driver that is patient enough to do that. It's like going to Vegas and saying you're going to win 10 million dollars. You can make your odds better and put yourself in a better position. But there's still a lot out of your control. Is being patient enough and hanging in the back guarantee a good finish? No. But when you're in the back you can definitely get stopped and not be collected in the mess."

GUSTAFSON (ON REPLICATING DAYTONA'S PERFORMANCE AT TALLADEGA.): "I think that we expect to run well, but not for the same reasons we did at Daytona. Casey is good at drafting. The engine shop is really good at making restrictor plate engines. Our cars are fast. I think the reasons we ran well at Daytona is that our cars were fast, but it handled well, too. That gap will close at Talladega because the competition won't have to worry about handling."

GUSTAFSON (ON THE NEW CAR BEING EASIER TO CORRECT.): "I think the Impala SS is easier to correct for speedway cars only. Not so much at Texas, Richmond or any other race track. These cars, compared to the former speedway cars, have more downforce and are, therefore, more forgiving I think. I don't think the wrecks at Talladega come from ill-handling cars or guys getting sideways. It's from people making mistakes, getting impatient, pushing, or going four-wide. That's what the wrecks come from, not from ill-handling cars. I don't expect the racing to be any different this weekend."

GUSTAFSON (ON THE GAMEPLAN FOR TALLADEGA.): "The ideal strategy from a team's standpoint is that we just realize at the beginning of the race that we want to take care of the car, the equipment, keep good tires on it and fuel in it in case it goes green for a while. You just play it conservatively, as do the drivers until it's time to go. The ideal thing for us would be a caution with 20 laps to go where we could use pit strategy to get track position, or use our pit crew do their job and get track position and just let Casey go out there and race. Just put him in the position where he can run up front and win."