Bristol: Casey Mears preview

TARGET TEAM FACTS:

* Chassis: Team Target is taking chassis # 112 to Bristol. This is the same car that finished second in the Food City 500 last season with driver Jimmy Spencer.

* Mears is the only Raybestos Rookie to have started in all five races this season and not have a DNF.

* Mears and McMurray are the only two Raybestos Rookies that have started all five races without using a provisional. Mears is currently second in Raybestos Rookie point standings (behind teammate Jamie McMurray).

* Casey Mears and Jamie McMurray are the first teammate rookies to compete for Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors.

* Mears became the first rookie to lead a lap and the only rookie to lead a lap in the Daytona 500.

CASEY MEARS QUOTES:

Thoughts on Bristol...
"Out of all the short tracks Bristol is probably the fastest one. I like the speed a lot; I like places that are fast. Bristol is just high banked and wide open. It's one of those races where you have to survive first to win. It's going to be one of the first places I've gone to this season that we haven't tested at. Atlanta I didn't test at and then Bristol is going to be the next place that we race at that we haven't tested at. We'll just have to take what these guys learned last year and hopefully it will be good enough."

Have you earned the respect of the veterans to treat you nice at Bristol?
"I don't think that even if you're a veteran and have been around forever that you're going to get treated nice at Bristol. Nobody gets treated nice at Bristol. Everybody gets moved out of the way. I think it's going to take half the year or all of this year to earn the respect from the veterans. But I do know that we've made a lot of progress, just as far as talking to the guys. There are a lot of guys that feel more comfortable racing around me now."