MEARS AT MICHIGAN: Casey Mears has posted one top-five finish, two top-10s and four top-15s in his last six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Michigan International Speedway. He posted his career-best MIS finish of fourth in June 2007. In June 2005, Mears started second and led seven laps before finishing 21st.
MICHIGAN VICTOR: Mears earned his first career stock car victory at Michigan International Speedway in Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) competition on June 14, 2003. He followed that win with back-to-back ARCA wins at Pocono Raceway the following month. In 2003, Mears also was competing full-time in the Sprint Cup Series.
NO. 5 AT MICHIGAN: Alan Gustafson will make his eighth trip to Michigan as crew chief of the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet on Sunday. In seven starts, the No. 5 Chevy has recorded two top-10 finishes—including a sixth-place finish in June 2007. In August 2005, the team led 28 laps before debris on the grill caused the Chevy to overheat.
PACE CAR DRIVER: In July, Mears traveled to Michigan International Speedway to take a few laps around the oval at a more relaxed speed. Mears showed local media members the best way around MIS in the track’s Chevrolet pace car.
LOCAL ENGINEER: Chris “Sunshine” Heroy was raised in Angola, Ind., roughly one hour southwest of Michigan International Speedway. Heroy began his racing career competing in shifter karts and autocross cars at racetracks in northern Indiana. After graduating from Angola High School, Heroy pursued a degree in physics at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, which he received in 2000. Heroy joined Hendrick Motorsports in August 2004.
JOINING THE GANG: The No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST pit crew will travel to Randleman, N.C., on Tuesday, Aug. 12 to participate in the “NASCARnival” at Victory Junction Gang Camp. The crew will perform pit stops for campers before allowing them to try it themselves. The team also will participate in other carnival activities, including hot-air balloon rides. Gustafson will be the camp’s special guest in the “dunk tank” for the evening’s festivities.
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB: Hendrick Motorsports and CARQUEST will host members of the Charlotte, N.C., and Cabarrus County (N.C.) Boys & Girls Clubs at the Hendrick Motorsports complex on Wednesday. Besides touring the 5/88 shop and the engine department, the kids also will get to attempt a pit stop with the Kellogg’s/CARQUEST pit crew. Crew chiefs Tony Eury Jr. and Chad Knaus, along with Dion “Rocco” Williams of the No. 24 pit crew, will meet with club members to discuss the importance of education, setting goals and reaching them.
CHASSIS NOTE: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-500 for Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway. That is the same car the Kellogg’s/CARQUEST team raced at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May, Michigan in June and Chicagoland Speedway in July.
HENDRICK AT MICHIGAN: In 49 races at Michigan, Hendrick Motorsports has posted four wins, 33 top-five finishes and 64 top-10s.
QUOTES
CASEY MEARS, DRIVER, NO. 5 KELLOGG’S/CARQUEST CHEVROLET (ON WHAT HE DID TO PASS THE TIME DURING LAST YEAR’S TWO-DAY RAINOUT AT MICHIGAN. ): “That was a long race weekend. I know a couple of guys flew home, but I was just too nervous to do that. I mean, I would watch the weather, and it would call for rain. But I just didn’t want to chance going home and missing the start of the race for any reason at all. I ended up spending most of the time in the motorcoach, watching movies and playing X-box and just hoping it would stop raining.”
MEARS (ON THE OLYMPICS. ): “I hate saying it, but I just really don’t get into the Olympics. Not the summer ones, anyway. I love the Winter Olympics—the snowboarding and the X-Games type of stuff. That’s the kind of sports I was into as a kid. I never really was interested in running or shot put or the traditional games. If anything in the Summer Olympics, the gymnasts just amaze me. Especially the rings. I don’t know how they do that stuff.”
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 KELLOGG’S/CARQUEST CHEVROLET (ON MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY. ): “It has fast, big, sweeping corners, and you’ve really got to carry speed into the corners. That’s the key to the place. You’ve got to carry momentum off the corner. It’s fast. The track really spreads out, and the driver is in the corner for such a long period of time. It’s kind of worn out—it’s a little bit bumpier now, a bit rougher—but it’s a fun place to race.”
GUSTAFSON (ON WHAT THE KELLOGG’S/CARQUEST TEAM LEARNED FROM JUNE’S MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY RACE. ): “Michigan is pretty similar to Pocono. We really struggled up there. You’d think we’d have the same issues at Michigan that we did at California, but that wasn’t the case. We’ve learned a little bit more about what we need to do there. It’s the same thing we’ve struggled with on high-speed tracks. Hopefully we’ll be a little bit smarter when we go back and have a little bit better handle on it to have a better run.”
GUSTAFSON (ON RAINY MEMORIES AT MICHIGAN. ): “Two years ago, rain shortened the Cup race. Last year, of course, we’re sitting around for a couple days waiting out the rain, and that’s pretty awkward. It was constant pushing the car out, and bringing it back to the garage. Changing shocks, and then pushing it back out. And a lot of killing time in the transporter. At night, there’s not a whole lot to do in Chelsea, Mich., so we spent most of it working out, then eating. (LAUGHS. )We finally got the race in, and we had a really good car. There was a restart with not many laps to go. We restarted somewhere in the top five and didn’t have fresh tires. Us and Tony Stewart got into a little bit of a scuffle, and that broke our momentum. Then we got into a position where a lot of guys with tires caught up to us, and we finished 12th. That’s the biggest thing I remember about it, apart from sitting in the rain for two days.”
GUSTAFSON (ON WHAT OLYMPIC SPORTS HE’S WATCHING THIS YEAR. ): “I love the sprint races. Those guys and girls just amaze me. I also think the USA men’s basketball team is going to be pretty interesting this year. I flip back and forth through the different events throughout the Olympics. I actually caught a little volleyball last weekend, too. But, to be honest, we’ve got some pre-season football games coming up, and that pretty much trumps all other television shows for me.”
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