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BUSCH: Daytona: Casey Mears preview

Casey Mears No. 66 Phillips 66 Dodge Intrepid NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division Race Information Saturday, February 16, 2002 EAS/GNC Live Well 300 Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, FL) Track Size: 2.5-mile tri-oval Laps: ...

Edited: Apr 16, 2008, 12:40 AM

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Casey Mears
No. 66 Phillips 66 Dodge Intrepid
NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division

Race Information
Saturday, February 16, 2002
EAS/GNC Live Well 300
Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, FL)
Track Size: 2.5-mile tri-oval
Laps: 120
Miles: 300
TV: TNT- 1:00 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN- 12:30 p.m. ET

Notes & Quotes
Casey Mears On Daytona International Speedway . . . "I'm approaching Daytona with an open mind. I'm excited, but at the same time I don't want to get too excited and lose focus. Daytona is an awesome place and I can't wait for things to get started. During testing in January we mostly made qualifying runs, so there really weren't many other cars out there at the same time. That was a lot of fun, but I can only imagine how exciting it's going to be with 42 other cars out there running inches away for 300 miles."

Rookie Contender... Mears is one of several drivers who will compete for the rookie of the year honors in the Busch Series this season. Mears made his Busch Series debut in 2001 at Homestead-Miami Speedway where he qualified 21st and finished 28th.

What To Expect... "The most important thing for me is getting seat time and running all the laps I can. Running the ARCA race last weekend was just another way for me to gain more of that valuable track time and learn a little bit more about drafting in a stock car."

Just Two... Mears is just one of two drivers driving a Dodge Intrepid during the EAS/GNC Live Well 300 at Daytona. The other Dodge Intrepid will be driven by Mears' Welliver-Jesel Motorsports teammate Hank Parker, Jr. Welliver-Jesel made the switch to Dodge from Chevrolet during the off-season.

Do You Feel A Draft?... "There's quite a big difference between drafting in a stock car versus open-wheel car. The only similarity is the fact that the draft does help you close in on the car in front of you. Besides that, the two cars have nothing in common in the draft. I've learned stock cars create so much turbulence behind them that it makes it a lot more difficult to pass, compared to an open-wheel car. It's definitely more difficult to pass in the draft in a stock car versus an Indy Car."

<pre> Casey Mears NASCAR Busch Series Record Starts Wins Top 5s Top 10s Poles Career Earnings 1 0 0 0 0 $16,035

Phillips 66 Performance Team 2001 NASCAR Busch Series Results Date Location ST FIN LC/TL Earnings Status Pts.* 2/17 Daytona Beach, Fla. 35 24 120/120 $34,770 Running 24 2/24 Rockingham, N.C. 30 30 192/197 $16,375 Accident 28 3/3 Las Vegas, Nev. 29 28 196/200 $24,200 Engine 27 3/10 Hampton, Ga. 35 31 119/203 $15,715 Accident 31 3/17 Darlington, S.C. 27 18 147/147 $19,591 Running 27 3/24 Bristol, Tenn. 11 2 250/250 $46,505 Running 19 3/31 Fort Worth, Texas 22 26 195/200 $23,455 Running 19 4/14 Nashville, Tenn. 36 18 224/225 $20,020 Running 20 4/21 Talladega, Ala. 23 18 112/113 $24,670 Running 20 4/28 Fontana, Calif. 12 11 150/150 $31,525 Running 17 5/4 Richmond, Va. 36 21 249/250 $20,015 Running 18 5/12 Loudon, N.H. 25 25 193/200 $17,856 Running 19 5/20 Nazareth, Pa. 11 5 200/200 $24,650 Running 18 5/26 Concord, N.C. 18 27 198/200 $18,460 Running 18 6/2 Dover, Del. 18 31 143/200 $18,415 Running 22 6/16 Kentucky 41 42 2/200 $22,025 Ignition 25 7/1 Milwaukee, Wis. 26 17 249/250 $20,200 Running 24 7/8 Watkins Glen, N.Y. 20 20 82/82 $20,065 Running 22 7/14 Chicago, Ill. 30 23 197/200 $25,670 Running 21 7/21 Madison, Ill. 18 19 196/200 $26,370 Running 22 7/28 Fountain, Colo. 20 18 248/250 $23,450 Running 21 8/4 Indianapolis, Ind. 15 8 200/200 $17,675 Running 20 8/18 Brooklyn, Mich. 27 40 57/125 $18,460 Engine 22 8/24 Bristol, Tenn. 27 14 250/250 $18,340 Running 20 9/1 Darlington, S.C. 28 34 129/147 $15,950 Running 21 9/7 Richmond, Va. 18 4 250/250 $21,220 Running 19 9/22 Dover, Del. 17 22 198/200 $19,775 Running 19 9/29 Kansas, City, Kan. 26 26 198/200 $24,295 Running 19 10/6 Concord, N.C. 26 33 164/200 $19,130 Engine 22 10/13 Memphis, Tenn. 21 35 156/250 $20,485 Engine 22 10/27 Phoenix, Ariz. 25 30 191/200 $23,295 Accident 23 11/3 Rockingham, N.C. 20 18 196/197 $18,920 Running 23 11/10 **Homestead, Fla. 21 28 196/200 $16,035 Running 23

Starts  Poles  Outside Poles    Wins    Top 5s  Top 10s         LC/TL
33      0       0       0       3       4                       5,847/6,456

*2001 car owner points ** Casey Mears first race with Phillips 66 team

-wjm-

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