NASCAR Cup
BUSCH: Casey Mears signs with Ganassi Racing Winston Cup
MOORESVILLE, N.C., (December 5, 2002) --- Target Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced today that Casey Mears will drive the No. 41 Target Dodge in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series with veteran Jimmy Elledge performing the crew chief ...
Edited: Apr 16, 2008, 12:40 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber

MOORESVILLE, N.C., (December 5, 2002) --- Target Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced today that Casey Mears will drive the No. 41 Target Dodge in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series with veteran Jimmy Elledge performing the crew chief duties.
"The addition of Casey adds a lot of excitement and energy to the team," team owner Chip Ganassi said. "Our company is about winning races and adding value to our sponsor's investments and we're confident that Casey's work ethic and talent coupled with Jimmy's experience can help us do just that for Target."

Casey Mears.
Photo by Richard Sloop.
The 2002 season marked Mears' first year in the NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division and his first full season running stock cars. He captured two top-10 finishes in his first season and finished 21st in driver points. Mears' racing background includes CART and IRL racing from 1996 to 2001. In 1995, he captured the Jim Russell USAC Triple Crown Championship after finishing third in 1994. Casey is the nephew of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, Rick Mears.
"I'm excited to be starting my Winston Cup career with Target Chip Ganassi Racing," Mears said. "This is a great opportunity for me to be a part of a first-class organization that is dedicated to winning championships. I am especially excited to drive for Target. They have had a long, successful relationship with Chip Ganassi Racing and I'm looking forward to giving them more success in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series."
Jimmy Elledge comes to Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates after spending four years in the crew chief role at Andy Petree Racing.
-cgr-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Kyle Petty honored, Tony Stewart day three in NYC
Next article Stewart honored, Earnhardt remembered on day four
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment

More from
Casey Mears

41 NASCAR Cup cars on Daytona entry list with five open teams
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
New Hampshire
41 NASCAR Cup cars on Daytona entry list with five open teams

Casey Mears to reach 500th career NASCAR Cup start in new deal with Beard Motorsports
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Martinsville
Casey Mears to reach 500th career NASCAR Cup start in new deal with Beard Motorsports

Joey Logano wins Duel #1 as Mears full-throttles into wreck to make the Daytona 500
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Daytona 500
Joey Logano wins Duel #1 as Mears full-throttles into wreck to make the Daytona 500

More from
Chip Ganassi Racing

Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test
IndyCar
IndyCar
Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test

Alex Palou to drive Indy NXT machinery in Chris Griffis Memorial Test at IMS
IndyCar
IndyCar
Alex Palou to drive Indy NXT machinery in Chris Griffis Memorial Test at IMS

Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
Indy NXT
Indy NXT
Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
Latest news
![]()
Kaden Honeycutt wins incident-free Phoenix NASCAR Truck race, extends points lead
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Phoenix
1 h
Kaden Honeycutt wins incident-free Phoenix NASCAR Truck race, extends points lead

GTA VI 'Vice City' blimp to appear at NASCAR championship weekend
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
6 h
GTA VI 'Vice City' blimp to appear at NASCAR championship weekend

Verstappen Racing struggles to 15th as Porsche takes emotional Portimao pole
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 6 h
Verstappen Racing struggles to 15th as Porsche takes emotional Portimao pole

Franco Colapinto urges fans to stop the abuse: “You’re not helping me or my future”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
11 h
Franco Colapinto urges fans to stop the abuse: “You’re not helping me or my future”
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe