Mears and Geico team persevere through long day in Kansas

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In: NASCAR Cup Series News

 

With the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season winding down, the Germain Racing team headed to Kansas looking to have a strong run. Rain and cold weather welcomed Casey Mears and his team, but the precipitation cleared on Friday afternoon and created a pathway to a cool, beautiful weekend.

When practice finally got underway on Friday, Mears and his No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS finished up 24th in the first practice session. Later, Mears would narrowly miss the cut in the first round of qualifying and would start from the 26th position in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400.

 

Bright, clear skies and cool temperatures made for a perfect combination when drivers took to the starting grid eyeing 267-laps of racing. Mears and the GEICO Chevy started from the 26th p

osition when the green flag got the race underway on Sunday afternoon. He seemed to be quick, as he promptly collected four positions and sat 22nd at the close of the opening lap. By lap six, however, he was reporting to crew chief Bootie Barker that the car was “plowing”. He also reported chatter in the front tires on lap 16. The handling of the No. 13 GEICO Chevy kept Mears busy as the race wore on. By lap 28, he was in the 28th position and reported, “I’m tight everywhere, but really tight center off. It’s like the steering wheel is upside down it’s so tight.”

In a race that featured eight caution flags, Barker and his Germain Racing crew would work feverishly during each pit stop in an attempt to correct the handling of the No. 13 GEICO Chevy SS. They lost laps to the leaders, but would later gamble on taking wavearounds to recover previously surrendered real estate. In each case, the gamble would fail to pay off, leaving Mears and his GEICO Chevy to pit under green conditions and forcing them multiple laps down to the field as the race began to wind down. The checkered flag waved late Sunday afternoon, putting an end to a tough day for the Germain Racing team. Mears crossed the finish line in the 28th position after dealing with handling issues for the bulk of the 400-mile event. Despite the challenging result, Mears still remains just one of four drivers to have completed every race on the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule.

 

“It was a long day for sure, we definitely have some things we need to work on,” Mears said. “Our GEICO Chevy was a handful today, but I appreciate all of our crew’s hard work on pit road as we tried to make changes and improve the racecar. We’ll get back to the shop and debrief and talk about what happened today and then we’ll turn our focus to having a good weekend at Charlotte.”

 

Mears and the Germain Racing team will now enjoy some time at home, as next weekend will find them racing just down the road in Concord, NC.

 

PMI PR

 

Speedway Digest Staff
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