RICHMOND, Va. - The last thing Casey Mears' team needs is an engine failure. His team already sits 33rd in owner points.
So the fact that Mears will have a new Chevrolet R07 engine in his car next week at Texas Motor Speedway is a sign Hendrick Motorsports has confidence in the new motor.
Mears will be one of at least six Chevrolets with the new engine, which was in Scott Wimmer's Richard Childress Racing car that failed to qualify at Atlanta Motor Speedway last month.
Mears and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Busch, along with all three Joe Gibbs Racing cars and Wimmer (in a fourth RCR car) will have the new engine for the race weekend.
Jeff Gordon tested the engine during a tire test at Darlington last month, where Gordon ran 500 laps with no issues.
"We feel confident going in there that we're going to have a really good piece," said Darian Grubb, crew chief for Mears. "It ran 500 laps at Darlington and did very well there. We've done a lot of work on the dyno at home doing simulations.
"Everything seems really good. It's time to start breaking it out."
Both Gibbs and RCR have had fuel pump cable problems with the new configuration that they were using with their old engines in anticipation of the switch to the new one.
"[Our] guys have got enough together to run them at Texas, and we'll see what happens from there," said Mike Ford, JGR crew chief for Denny Hamlin. "It's one of those things. Knock on wood and do your best. We're not the only ones to have that issue. ... We're doing the best we can to avoid that [problem] in the future."
Grubb said he is comfortable that the Hendrick stable has gotten a handle on the problems.
"We started on it last year with the 44 car of Terry Labonte," Grubb said. "We knew it was coming. We knew it was something we needed to work on, so we started running it earlier than everybody else.
"We worked out a lot of those issues last year and the beginning of this season. I feel pretty confident. That's not to say we won't have a problem because there have been a lot of different problems so far, but I think our guys are on top the game with that."
The new engine is designed to use more modern parts and be more durable. It also has a different plumbing system. As far as horsepower, it is believed that the potential is for more.
"Everything indicates that it is going to be better," Ford said. "It's just a matter of getting some track time. I think it's going to be better, but I'm not 100 percent certain yet."
So the fact that Mears will have a new Chevrolet R07 engine in his car next week at Texas Motor Speedway is a sign Hendrick Motorsports has confidence in the new motor.
Mears will be one of at least six Chevrolets with the new engine, which was in Scott Wimmer's Richard Childress Racing car that failed to qualify at Atlanta Motor Speedway last month.
Mears and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Busch, along with all three Joe Gibbs Racing cars and Wimmer (in a fourth RCR car) will have the new engine for the race weekend.
Jeff Gordon tested the engine during a tire test at Darlington last month, where Gordon ran 500 laps with no issues.
"We feel confident going in there that we're going to have a really good piece," said Darian Grubb, crew chief for Mears. "It ran 500 laps at Darlington and did very well there. We've done a lot of work on the dyno at home doing simulations.
"Everything seems really good. It's time to start breaking it out."
Both Gibbs and RCR have had fuel pump cable problems with the new configuration that they were using with their old engines in anticipation of the switch to the new one.
"[Our] guys have got enough together to run them at Texas, and we'll see what happens from there," said Mike Ford, JGR crew chief for Denny Hamlin. "It's one of those things. Knock on wood and do your best. We're not the only ones to have that issue. ... We're doing the best we can to avoid that [problem] in the future."
Grubb said he is comfortable that the Hendrick stable has gotten a handle on the problems.
"We started on it last year with the 44 car of Terry Labonte," Grubb said. "We knew it was coming. We knew it was something we needed to work on, so we started running it earlier than everybody else.
"We worked out a lot of those issues last year and the beginning of this season. I feel pretty confident. That's not to say we won't have a problem because there have been a lot of different problems so far, but I think our guys are on top the game with that."
The new engine is designed to use more modern parts and be more durable. It also has a different plumbing system. As far as horsepower, it is believed that the potential is for more.
"Everything indicates that it is going to be better," Ford said. "It's just a matter of getting some track time. I think it's going to be better, but I'm not 100 percent certain yet."
