Casey Mears Makes Emotional Return to Daytona 500
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
By Dennis Krause
Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott won Thursday night’s America 250 Florida Duel at DAYTONA qualifying races that set the field for Sunday’s 68th running of the Daytona 500.
In this current era of charters which guarantees a starting spot in every NASCAR Cup Series race, including the 500, the best stories to come out of the Duel races are the ones of the drivers who had to race their way into the 500. Four spots were available for those without charters or “open” cars. After two more spots were taken by Corey Heim and Justin Allgaier in Wednesday night’s time trials, which of the six “open” cars/drivers was where the drama was to be found in the Duel races.
Such was certainly the case for Casey Mears. Left a lap down after spinning entering the pits during the first Duel, the 46-year-old Mears managed to get back on the lead lap by virtue of being the first car a lap down during a subsequent caution. Mears then drove through a multi-car wreck during overtime that included Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Corey LaJoie, who Mears needed to beat into order to make the 500 field. Mears was credited with an eighth place finish.
As he was spinning his wheels in the infield grass of Daytona International Speedway’s tri-oval trying to get going, Mears’ chances of making Sunday’s 500 looked bleak.
“I was worried when we got stuck,” Mears admitted. “I was worried about going two laps down.
“I don’t know. I mean, obviously I haven’t come to pit road a lot in the last few years. Coming a little bit too hot obviously. I locked the rears up. That’s what kind of caused that.
“The biggest thing I was worried about is going two down, right? Always in my mind I feel like there’s a good possibility of a late-race caution at this track. I knew if we were one down, we’d still have some kind of chance. Actually got on the radio and asked all the guys to stay calm, said, We still got a shot here.
“For sure when we were sitting in the grass, that wasn’t pretty. I can’t believe it. After all that, being sitting in position to go race the Daytona 500 on Sunday, pretty much the whole race I was thinking that was out of our grasp. There’s a lot of prayers said, for sure, just for opportunity. It opened up, we took advantage of it.
“Just super happy to be here.”
Mears has raced in NASCAR’s Cup Series for some of the biggest teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing over the years, as well as some of the smallest programs, like the No. 66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse he’s piloting for Carl Long’s Garage 66 team.
“Nothing surprises me here,” added Mears, who last raced in the 500 in 2019. “You come here sometimes with a big team and think you’ve done everything right in the off-season, you qualify 25th. I came here with a really small team in 2019, we locked our way in the show on speed.
“This is just one of those places where there’s enough random things that happen and stuff that happens that’s out of your control. Sometimes you’re on the right side of it and sometimes you’re not. Fortunately today we were on the right side.
“It was a big range of emotion, but the one thing that’s interesting about this time around, this is all a bonus round for me. My career pretty much had an end back in 2017, 2018. To come back and just have the opportunity to do this again is a big deal. I’m kind of soaking it in and enjoying every moment. Just being here the two days before…
“Now to be on this side of it, deliver for Carl Long, all those guys. I got to tell you something about Carl Long. That guy absolutely works harder than anybody in the garage. He is smart about how he does what he does. We knew we were going to come here and struggle and have a hard time.
“I appreciate him.
“That got me for a minute (tearing up). I wanted you guys to know he’s the real guy behind all that.”
Mears also got emotional talking about his wife, Trish, and their children. Except for his daughter, they will now be joining him in Daytona for Sunday’s race.
“Yeah, my daughter (Samantha, 17) has a cheer tournament in Las Vegas this weekend. So my wife and my son (Hayden, 14), they have flights going to Vegas and they have flights going to Orlando tomorrow (smiling). Depending on how this worked out was depending on where they were going to be.
“Couldn’t be more happier they’re taking that flight to Orlando. Gosh, dang, man, get choked up. It means a lot.
“I think a lot of people don’t really know and understand what the wife and kids do, you know (tearing up). Shoot, I can’t even talk. It’s not a championship speech (smiling).
Really they do. Trish has been right there with me. The kids. They’re going nuts right now. I can’t wait to talk to them.
“It just means a lot. Especially now, you know what I mean? My kids were younger when I was racing. Even before I started doing this this last year, I’d asked my son about, Do you remember this or that? He didn’t remember. He was young.
“To come back and do it now, my kids, the ages they’re at, they understand what dad did for a living is cool.”
Taking it all in, the nephew of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears could only shake his head and smile.
“I just can’t believe we’re sitting here right now. Everything was completely stacked against us from top to bottom. Even in the scenarios in the race, if everything played out the way everybody wanted to do their job, there’s no way we would have been where we’re at right now. Thank God we were right place, right time, didn’t damage the car too much, able to get it home.
“I don’t know. I keep saying I can’t believe we’re here, but I don’t even feel like I should be in this room right now. Feels good to be here. I haven’t been here in a while (smiling).”
Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.