Mears reason for NASCAR hiatus as fan favorite – Sports News
Casey Mears is slated to make his long-awaited Cup Series return after the previous race winner took a prolonged hiatus from NASCAR.
On Sunday, Mears will symbolize Garage 66 at Martinsville Speedway, the place he’ll pilot the No. 66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. The 47-year-old final raced within the Cup Series on the 2019 Daytona 500, during which he completed fortieth.
Addressing his racing comeback, Mears stated in an official assertion: “I’m happy to be back in a race car and look forward to returning to Martinsville, one of my favorite tracks.
“I recognize Carl (Long, co-owner of Garage 66) working with me to make it occur; he is a well-respected, great man who’s labored exhausting to expertise longevity within the sport. I’m excited to have HitchGO, Mosby’s Towing and Transport, and Coble Enterprises on board as we chip away at 500 NASCAR Cup Series begins.”
Over a decorated 15-year career in NASCAR, Mears made 489 Cup Series starts for Chip Ganassi Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Keyed-Up Motorsports, Tommy Baldwin Racing, Team Red Bull and Germain Racing. His lone win came in 2007 at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte – a race he only led for the final six laps.
Despite proving to be a reliable driver within the Cup Series, Mears finally walked away from the game following the 2016 marketing campaign – his ultimate full-time season – and moved to Phoenix along with his household. As for why the veteran determined to momentarily dangle up the racing gloves, he cited a need to not grow to be an uncompetitive driver racing for a ‘back-marker program.’
“The one thing that helped me make this decision to move to Phoenix is that I didn’t want to be one of those guys that lingered in the sport either,” he instructed NBC Sports back in 2020. “I didn’t want to be with a back marker program and not be able to be competitive and that’s kind of probably what would have happened. I would have stuck around and would have gotten into something I probably really didn’t need to be in.”
Taking a break from racing moreover allowed Mears to spend useful time with household. “We always said that when the NASCAR things slowed down, we’d like to be back out this way,” he added. “So we picked up and moved the kids and came out to Phoenix. We’re loving it, and I’m really enjoying spending a lot of time with them. I’ve also been fortunate to reconnect with some of my off-road racing buddies since I’ve been out here.”
DON’T MISS:
Yet Mears by no means misplaced the itch to drive, conceding that he missed racing within the Cup Series. “For sure I miss a lot of the people that you saw week in and week out. I definitely miss the competition,” he stated. “I don’t think I’ll ever not miss being in a race car because, like so many others in the sport, I didn’t really get to go out on my own terms.
“For so many people, the sport decides it for you before you’re ready to decide not to do it. I think I’ll always have that desire to want to get in a car again.”
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