Q. What went wrong that you’re leaving the team at season’s end, and are you thinking about returning to the Indy Car world, or will you stay in Cup?
Mears: “There is no real one place you can point the finger and say hey, this is bad. At the end of the day, this is a performance-based sport. My uncle (four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears) has always said you’ve got to put the numbers on the board and that’s how you keep your job and keep your ride. And unfortunately for a few different reasons we just haven’t been able to do that this season. (As for Indy Car) No, I want to be here in Cup. This is the best series in the world. Right now it’s the strongest, most competitive place and really, if you want to be a race car driver and prove that you can be the best, you need to be over here and that’s where I want to be.
Q. You’re with arguably the best team in the Cup series, yet while your teammates have done fairly well this season, you’ve struggled. Do you feel you’ve been given a fair shake?
Mears: “I understand more than ever that it’s business. At the end of the day, (team owner Rick Hendrick) is trying to run the best possible business he can and do the best things he can for his company. At the same time we’re all really good friends still. I think the fact that I do have such good relationships over there makes these conversations a little bit easier in some respects, and a little bit harder as well because you’re leaving some good friends.”
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