Casey Mears will drive the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, joining a team that secured its second consecutive Chase for the Championship berth Sunday at California Speedway.
In his first season with Hendrick Motorsports, Mears has notched one victory, a pole position, four top-five finishes and six top-10s through 25 races. The Bakersfield, Calif., native will complete the current schedule in the organization’s No. 25 Chevrolets before transitioning to the Kellogg’s/CARQUEST team.
The effort will be led by Alan Gustafson, 32, who has earned four wins, two poles, 25 top-five finishes and 45 top-10s since his first season as crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolets in 2005. Only five Cup Series teams have posted more top-10 finishes during that span.
“My goal is to meet the high standard the drivers before me helped established with the No. 5 Chevrolet, both on and off the track, ” said the 29-year-old Mears. “I’m looking forward to working with Alan and the team to continue the winning tradition for Kellogg’s, CARQUEST and Hendrick Motorsports. “
Since its inception in 1984, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team has posted 27 victories and 35 pole positions with just four different drivers—Geoff Bodine, Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte and Kyle Busch. It has finished among the top 12 in Cup points in 17 of the past 23 seasons (1984-2006), including a championship in 1996.
“The No. 5 was our first car (at Hendrick Motorsports), so, for me, there’s a lot of personal history in that team, ” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “Casey has proven capable of winning and running up front, which is what the No. 5 has always been about. The goal is more victory lanes and championships for the team, and for Kellogg’s and CARQUEST. “
The relationship between Kellogg Co. and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team is one of the most enduring in NASCAR. Kellogg’s debuted as primary sponsor of the No. 5 Chevys in 1994 and has since earned a Cup Series title, 16 race wins, 89 top-five finishes and 170 top-10s.
In 2002, CARQUEST Auto Parts joined Hendrick Motorsports as an associate sponsor of the cars driven by Ricky Hendrick in the NASCAR Busch Series. The relationship transitioned into a Cup-level associate sponsorship in 2004 and grew into the co-primary sponsorship with Kellogg’s this season.
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