NASCAR Veteran Returns After Six-Year Absence

What’s Happening?

Casey Mears, a 15-year NASCAR Cup Series veteran, will make his return to the NASCAR Cup Series this season at Martinsville with Carl Long’s Garage 66. This will be the 47-year-old’s first start in any NASCAR National Series since 2019.

• Mears’ last start was the 2019 Daytona 500 as an open entry with the now-shuttered Germain Racing. Mears both started and finished 40th that evening. Following that race, Mears currently has 489 starts, and according to Garage 66, Mears is pursuing 500 career Cup Series starts.
• Mears had a 15-year career in the NASCAR Cup Series prior to stepping away from full-time competition at the end of the 2016 season. During his career, Mears raced for Chip Ganassi Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and Hendrick Motorsports. Mears earned his first Cup Series victory in 2006 with HMS.  
• However, Mears’ most memorable stretch of his career came with Germain Racing and their No. 13 entry. At the end of the 2010 season, Mears took over the Geico-sponsored car and drove it until 2016 before handing the reins over to Ty Dillon.
• Like several drivers of his time, Mears did not have a traditional stock car racing background. A member of the Mears Family, Casey made three IndyCar and five CART starts at the top level of IndyCar before transitioning to NASCAR.
• Mears has kept busy since his retirement, racing in the Baja 1000 and dirt modifieds in recent years.

What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X, and don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.