KELLOGG’S/CARQUEST TEAM FINISHES 35th AFTER 
LATE RACE ACCIDENT 

DRIVER CASEY MEARS POISED FOR TOP FIVE FINISH

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 17, 2008) – Casey Mears and the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST team were poised to finish in the top five of the 50th running of the Daytona 500. But contact on Lap 194 with Tony Stewart’s No. 20 took the team out of contention and out of the race.

“I just can’t explain how upsetting this is,” Mears said. “I really thought we were going to win. It was right there. The whole Kellogg’s/CARQUEST team put so much into this race car, and it’s just so disheartening to go from a possible win to a DNF.

“That spot on the track where Tony (Stewart) and I collided is real tough for the spotters to see. I thought I was clear and moved up a bit, and suddenly I was in the wall. It’s no one’s fault at all. It’s just a bad deal all the way around for everyone.”

Mears qualified sixth last Sunday. His fourth-place finish in the Gatorade Duels on Thursday secured the ninth starting position in the Daytona 500 for the Kellogg’s/CARQUEST team.

Race-day temperatures were the hottest the team had seen all week. Although Mears remained in the top 10 throughout the first 34 laps, the Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet was not handling well in the heat. The tires quickly lost traction, causing the Chevy to feel extremely loose on the race track.

While crew chief Alan Gustafson had made the call to pit on Lap 37, Mears reported several laps prior that the Chevy had picked up a heavy vibration. Not wanting to take any chances, Gustafson called Mears down pit road three laps early on Lap 34.

With four fresh tires and fuel, Mears rejoined the field in 29th place, one lap down to the leaders. After inspecting the tires, Gustafson radioed to Mears that the right front had suffered heavy wear and that Mears had made a good call to pit early. When pit stops cycled through, Mears was back on the lead lap in eighth place.

As the track’s temperature rose, the handling of the Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet declined. Mears was having a tough time keeping the car on the bottom of the race track. Without any traction, Mears fell to 16th place before re-entering pit road on Lap 72 for the team’s second pit stop. This time the team added a wedge adjustment which Mears said did help the rear of the car respond to the track.

A caution seven laps later allowed the Kellogg’s/CARQUEST team to make further wedge adjustments to the Chevrolet. While Gustafson made the call for four tires, several teams took right-side tires only, placing Mears 20th on the restart.

As the race hit the halfway point, Mears moved back inside the top 10. He and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved to the high side together to work through the field. As the green flag run wore on, however, the Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet again lost grip. Mears managed to hang on to the car, but he fell to 18th position before the team’s fourth pit stop on Lap 119.

Aware of the sun setting and the decreasing temperature, Gustafson made a call for no adjustments. Mears rejoined the field in 28th place with four fresh tires. When the stops had completely cycled through, he was back in the top 15.

By Lap 145, Mears was able to hold the bottom line and advance through the field. He reported to the team that when the sun went down, he could feel the Chevrolet gain grip on the race track.

Following a caution on Lap 150, Mears was in 14th place and ready to make his move. The field stacked up severely on the restart and shuffled the Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet back several positions. When two of the leaders collided a short time later, Mears was able to miss the accident but did suffer very minor damage to the right front of his Chevy.

With the caution occurring so quickly after the last one, Gustafson called for right side tires only on the team’s sixth stop. Mears gained two positions on pit road to rejoin the field in ninth place. In the short 10-lap green-flag run that followed, Mears advanced two positions to secure seventh place.

On Lap 178, Mears made his final pit stop of the Daytona 500. The handling of the Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet had improved greatly, prompting the team to change only the tires, add a little fuel and send Mears back to the track for the final time. While six cars had remained on the track during the caution, Mears rejoined the field in 12th place. Only he and Tony Stewart’s No. 20 had four fresh tires in the top 15.

Mears set his sights on the lead, but was thwarted by a series of cautions. During each run, however, he gained positions. He jumped to seventh and then fifth place. Following a Lap 193 restart, Mears dove to the bottom of the track with Kyle Busch’s No. 18. The move advanced Mears into the top three for the first time in the Great American Race.

The following lap, however, while Mears moved to the high side to lead a pack of cars, the Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet made contact with Stewart’s No. 20. The contact was just enough to turn the Chevy into the outside wall. The damage was extensive and ended the team’s dream of winning the 50th running of the Daytona 500.

Mears placed 35th on the unofficial race finish.

The Kellogg’s/CARQUEST team next will compete at California Speedway on Sunday, Feb. 24. The race will air live on FOX at 3:30 p.m., ET.