Mears plays hard coast-to-coast in offseason
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla -- Seldom will a driver in NASCAR's premier series proclaim his eagerness to get back to the driver's seat to take a break from having fun -- but that was right where debuting Hendrick Motorsports driver Casey Mears found himself, at the turn of the new year.
With a transition from Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates to Hendrick's group, which includes 2006 Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet team, looming, Mears knew some time off was critical.
But he had no idea what he was in for.
"Yeah, my off season was pretty productive -- almost too productive, really, as far as having fun," Mears said, grinning at the memories. "It was so busy [because] I got a lot of free time to spend and relax a little bit."
Earlier this season, Mears took delivery of a high-powered "off-road car" -- basically a hopped-up dune buggy -- and he could hardly wait to put it to use back in his home state, California. But first he did some throwback open-wheel racing at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway.
"Right after Homestead, I ran Turkey Night [at Irwindale, Thanksgiving evening] and ran the Midget and Sprint Car," Mears said. "That was a lot of fun. I didn't have the best night, but it was a good experience.
"From there, I took the new off-road car down to Glamis [Calif., a legendary off-road playground] for a couple of days and rode around the sand dunes with my parents."
For a couple weeks, family time was prime time for Casey and the Mears clan.
"We went down to Baja to my dad's house and spent a couple of weeks there," Mears said. "I helped my dad work on his house a little bit, we framed some walls and did some drywall and some concrete and plumbing.
"It was actually kind of relaxing. Every now and then we'd take a break and do a little fishing.
"From there we went to Zihuatanejo, Mexico, with my brother and sister-in-law and my mom and dad and niece and nephew and spent Christmas."
A brief stop at home in the Carolinas preceded a trip to Florida, where Mears visited a favorite haunt of car owner Rick Hendrick.
"We came back home," Mears said, "and went down to Key West and met up with Rick and did a little fishing and went back up to Orlando [Florida] and spent New Year's with some friends."
"Now I'm back," Mears said, shaking his head with relief, "and it's good to be back working so I can rest a little bit."
Mears, who still seeks his first career Nextel Cup Series victory after 144 starts, feels he's in the perfect position to make it happen this season.
"Going to Hendrick Motorsports and knowing there's not a question about whether the equipment is there or not, feels good," Mears said. "It allows me to just focus on what I need to improve on and what I need to do."
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla -- Seldom will a driver in NASCAR's premier series proclaim his eagerness to get back to the driver's seat to take a break from having fun -- but that was right where debuting Hendrick Motorsports driver Casey Mears found himself, at the turn of the new year.
With a transition from Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates to Hendrick's group, which includes 2006 Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet team, looming, Mears knew some time off was critical.
But he had no idea what he was in for.
"Yeah, my off season was pretty productive -- almost too productive, really, as far as having fun," Mears said, grinning at the memories. "It was so busy [because] I got a lot of free time to spend and relax a little bit."
Earlier this season, Mears took delivery of a high-powered "off-road car" -- basically a hopped-up dune buggy -- and he could hardly wait to put it to use back in his home state, California. But first he did some throwback open-wheel racing at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway.
"Right after Homestead, I ran Turkey Night [at Irwindale, Thanksgiving evening] and ran the Midget and Sprint Car," Mears said. "That was a lot of fun. I didn't have the best night, but it was a good experience.
"From there, I took the new off-road car down to Glamis [Calif., a legendary off-road playground] for a couple of days and rode around the sand dunes with my parents."
For a couple weeks, family time was prime time for Casey and the Mears clan.
"We went down to Baja to my dad's house and spent a couple of weeks there," Mears said. "I helped my dad work on his house a little bit, we framed some walls and did some drywall and some concrete and plumbing.
"It was actually kind of relaxing. Every now and then we'd take a break and do a little fishing.
"From there we went to Zihuatanejo, Mexico, with my brother and sister-in-law and my mom and dad and niece and nephew and spent Christmas."
A brief stop at home in the Carolinas preceded a trip to Florida, where Mears visited a favorite haunt of car owner Rick Hendrick.
"We came back home," Mears said, "and went down to Key West and met up with Rick and did a little fishing and went back up to Orlando [Florida] and spent New Year's with some friends."
"Now I'm back," Mears said, shaking his head with relief, "and it's good to be back working so I can rest a little bit."
Mears, who still seeks his first career Nextel Cup Series victory after 144 starts, feels he's in the perfect position to make it happen this season.
"Going to Hendrick Motorsports and knowing there's not a question about whether the equipment is there or not, feels good," Mears said. "It allows me to just focus on what I need to improve on and what I need to do."