Casey Mears arrived at Martinsville Speedway looking to continue his run of solid finishes in the young 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. A favorite track of the GEICO driver, the Germain Racing team has always experienced success at the paperclip-shaped half-mile oval.
Mother Nature caused a little ruckus in the way of rain on Friday, which resulted in the delay of Sprint Cup Series practice. Once the cars hit the track, Mears and his No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS looked good as the weekend got underway. They ended up 13th on the speed chart when the opening practice concluded, leaving them excited for the impending qualifying session that would take place later that evening. Mears was fast in qualifying before a broken transmission would relegate him to the rear of Sunday’s starting field.
Starting from the rear at Martinsville Speedway can be a harrowing task, but Mears was able to keep the No. 13 GEICO Chevy clean as the STP 500 got started. He soon found himself as high as the 13th position, having hustled his way safely through nearly the entire field. Things seemed to go well until the caution flag on lap 228 involved Mears and his GEICO Chevy. He was seen spinning on television after cars checked up in front of him, resulting in contact from behind. He sustained only minor damage and continued on.
Crew chief Bootie Barker was masterful in his management of the sets of tires allotted by NASCAR, putting Mears in position to have fresh Goodyear’s at the end of the race. The Germain Racing pit crew was also strong on pit road all day, which assisted in Mears’ ascent through the field. As the race wound down, the GEICO Chevy was riding solidly in the top-15. When the checkered flag closed out 500 laps of racing, Mears had traveled all the way from the rear of the field to cross the finish line in the 15th position and hand Germain Racing their third top-15 finish in the season’s first six races. Mears’ unheralded journey through the field is a feat not often accomplished successfully, given the dangers of racing on a flat half-mile racetrack.
“We’re glad we were able to make it through the field and survive the incidents that we got a piece of and get out of here with a top-15 finish,” Mears said after the race. “The GEICO Chevy was strong on the shorter runs today, but we struggled a little bit on longer runs. Bootie (Barker, crew chief) did a nice job of managing the tires, while the pit crew was quick today, which really went a long way in helping us gain track position. We’re looking forward to a weekend off to get refreshed and then get back after it in Texas. A lot of our guys were on the road for three straight weeks during our west coast swing, so it will be good for everyone to step back and catch their breath. I can’t thank these guys enough for all of their hard work.”
The GEICO Racing team will enjoy a much-deserved week off before returning to action in Texas.
Casey Mears and the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS will hit the track at Texas Motor Speedway for the weekend’s opening practice session on Friday, April 10th, at 11:30 AM (ET). Qualifying will follow at 6:45 PM (ET).
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