Casey Mears is officially leaving Hendrick Motorsports, effective at the end of 2008.Mears, currently 24th in the Sprint Cup standings, leaves Hendrick after never doing anything that impressive while in the driver seat at the premier organization -- with the exception of one lone win at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2007.
It's been a constant struggle for Mears this season to produce results like the rest of his Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. despite driving equipment built out of the same shop as Earnhardt. Dale Jr.'s No. 88 is currently 3rd in the standings.
Oddly enough, Mears' best finish of 2008 was just one week ago at Infineon Raceway when he brought the No. 5 Chevrolet home in fourth. Five finishes lower than 35th in 16 races this season, though, aren't wiped away with a single Top-5.
I like Casey Mears a lot -- he's a nice guy and doesn't cause problems on track -- but the statistics are much too telling about his performance at HMS. Granted he hasn't had the best of conditions to work under are switching racing teams and crew chiefs multiple times, but at some point, the results just have to come.
Mark Martin is rumored to be getting in the No. 5 for a last-ditch effort at a Sprint Cup title in 2009. From his performance in a few races in 2008 -- most notably at Phoenix -- the part-time Dale Earnhardt Inc. driver could really make some waves with the appropriate equipment.
Martin in the No. 5 for 2009? Sounds good to me.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
6-27-2008 @ 10:53AM
CJ said...
Im not a bit suprised by this and actually had expected it last year, but i knew it was a matter of time. Obviously, Mears doesnt have the talent that his uncle had, and he's constantly been overrated. I hope it's not true, but alot of people think he's going to the other cereal car, the 33 Cheerios Chevy of RCR, and i know Richard said he was keeping an eye on the 5 situation earlier this year. I really hope Childress doesnt hire Mears, and i love Richard as an owner, but besides Ricky Rudd, Dale Earnhardt, and Jeff Burton, he's made some sorry hires, and this would be another. If this is true, i'll hope it rains the first five races next year cause the 33 car will not have the owner points to make the race if it's cancelled for any reasons. If they do, i hope Mears misses races, they fire him, and after next year Kenseth will be available and has the past champ provisional and maybe the go and hire him, Burton is still good friends with him. As far as the 5 car, i say the best options is Mark full time, Tony Stewart, or Martin Truex. I also think Reed Sorenson, Jamie McMurray, or Biffle would also be great fits, but Reed and Jamie, i dont see Hendrick firing Casey for, and Biffle should be announcing this weekend he's resigning with Roush, which also is a mistake. Ill say this, if Hendrick has fired Mears, which was a right move, for Kelesowski, even if it is part time, he has royally screwed up! Even if Mark comes back for one more full time year, like i stated earlier, Matt Kenseth becomes available and Jr and Matt also are great friends, plus Mark, who use to own Matt's car, could also have a lil pull to lure Matt to the bowties, but whether it's the 33 or the 5 car, to see Kenseth in a Chevy would be awesome. I really would like to see Tony in the 5 car, and simulate what Dale Sr did, own the team, just dont drive for it. I wouldnt mind seeing Jr and Stewart join to buy Haas(since he's in jail and isnt doing it any good) and then move Kelesowski to their team they own, that'd work also, but i just dread if they announce Brad and Mark will split the 5 car, that'll be a huge mistake and Brad doesnt have the talent to compete at Cup level. And i said it last year, that Hendrick fired the wrong driver, it should've been Mears instead of Busch, but i dont blame Hendrick for getting rid of both. I just feel no matter how much of an ass the driver is(and Kyle is a huge one) that talent should always overcome personality in racing, it's just that Jr has both and Kyle and Casey were missing one of those elements! i'd also be fine if Mears went to drive for Jr/Stewart's team also, it'll still need alot of work even if they buy it, and thus means Mears and Brad wouldnt really be threats for wins let alone the chase!
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6-27-2008 @ 12:07PM
Mike said...
AH HA, now we know the real truth. All the Hendricks guys do not share the same garage so they cannot be getting all the same info. Now we know that JR's people have been taking away from Casey Mears and that is why Mears sucks this year. And you people doubted my conspiracy. I had the right theory, just the wrong victim.
LMAO
MBL
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6-27-2008 @ 12:35PM
Brad said...
Damn Mike I just hate it when your right LMAO. Only one problem here, now you need a new theory about JG, but don't worry DA24 will come the rescue here shortly. LOL
Aloha, Brad
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6-27-2008 @ 1:04PM
Mike said...
I really do not know what to say about JG. The team is just sucking this year. Facts are facts. Everything I read, Jeff sticks by Steve. But it is obvious that team just has no clue on how to set the car up. As many have said there is such a fine balance that you have to hit and they have been no place near it except for a couple of tryouts. Kyle Busch, Dale Jr, Carl Edwards, and a few others are in it and it shows. Matt Kenseth has obviously found it in the last few weeks as well. This could well be the fisrt time in his career he goes without a win because before each race he says he thinks they found a few things to improve the car and once the race starts it is like he is driving with one foot on the brake as cars go by him each and every lap. We all have our opinions and suggestions but if we knew WTF we were talking about we would be doing it, not blogging about it. it is a sad sad sad day for me and the sort rainbow colored bus. I need a win badly so I can get all cocky again.
I am not too worried though because I know DA24JG will get out of school soon and come on to tell us all what the problem is and how to fix it. Oh great and omnipotent DA, please help Jeff get back to the winners circle so I can get out of the whiners circle.
I need a mancation, badly, and the next one is not until October.
mbl
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6-27-2008 @ 1:31PM
Susan said...
Mike,
I love your humor! That was too funny.
I feel your pain as well. My driver hasn't won this year. He also appears to be going to a team that has not won possibly EVER. He's also in peril of not making the chase. He's lost his personality too. I just want one more toke of the Smoke. :)
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6-27-2008 @ 7:39PM
jbond1038nc18 said...
LOL. Last year they got rid of Kyle to make a case for that damn ugly redhead. Kyle is tearing up the track while red has only won once in two years. And the reason he won that once is because the officials stopped the race with one lap to go. Red ran out of gas just as he made the caution lap across the finish line. If red had had to race hard on green, he'd been out of gas before he could have made it to the finish. But, you see, red hadn't won in two years and NASCAR was getting nervous about their stepchild going so long without winning, well..........you can guess the rest. Red has his father's name, but that's as close to his father as he gets. Sob, sob. Mears will be better off with another team, just as Kyle is. Mears probably only got the left-over parts for his car anyways.
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6-27-2008 @ 9:42PM
Kim said...
Isn't Mark Marting supposed to be retired? I am sorry, I love him, too and have the utmost respect for him, but his time has passed IMO.
Don't fret Susan, I still think this "rumor" of Mark Martin is just that, "rumor." I still have hope that Smoke will end up at Hendrick next year. We'll see.
I like Mears, too but if he can't produce results from a top notch team, then he must not have what it takes. I hope he proves me wrong when he moves on to another team.
Kim
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6-27-2008 @ 9:46PM
jack said...
hmmm...and i thought hendrick was a 'stand up' guy. even tho jg, cm, and jj have been my favorite drivers since they respectively started with nascar, i may have to follow casey to his new 'home'. keep the faith, casey; you have MANY fans who will follow you.
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6-28-2008 @ 12:44AM
anna seitter said...
Just few weeks ago, i said : casey smears is a sitting duck at HMS.Turned out to be just the case.
tHE question that now stands is: who is going to fill the #5 car? My number 1 choice is of course TONY STEWART cause i do not see yet a good motive for him to quit a top notch team for anything inferior.I tought it over even the other rumor going on about him and dale jr buying HAAS or TEI
and that didn't digest well either, cause THERESA
will not sell yet.HAAS, it's a more of a possibility
but the HAAS teams are so deteriorated that's going to take tony and dale ages to rebuild unless the dudu24 jumps in with all his papermishade millions
and racing expertees and props the new team up like a rocket. Suddenly that makes me wonder why doesn't he stormes in to HMS, FIRE the farmer boy STEVE LETARGO and brings JG back in to victory lane. Even
TONI could use and learn (up,up 00)from the dudu wisdom and knowledge if he jumpships to HMS as rumored.Well not knowing what the future will bring for our drivers, we can only sit here and speculate our opinions unless the millionaire man has a change of heart;steps in and fills as ahead time of all the future nazcar news.
Until than i shall too agree now about tony defenetely having some up his sleaves for next year;
and very likely it's HMS.M TRUEX HAS RENEWED THE CONTRACT AT TEI so he is going nowhere.
MARK MARTIN, although another good choice for th #5
he is semiretired and so how many races he is going to run in the #5 unless he finally has decided to take another shut at the championship (in a top team),and that is if THERESA lets him go,which i don't believe is going to happen either because she knows the BOOHOO'S and the beer and soda cans of the junior nation will be targeting whoever else drives the #8 unless JEFFERY EARNHARDT will be very to debutt. Works for me..
KIM, so far seems like ya been right about tony future plans, so lets keep the hope for him to drop
atop team for another top team and not make the same mistake that BOOBEY trap LABONTE did years ago.
MIKE your RAINBOW DRIVER is in the same shoes of TONY this year, when it comes to wins.
You are known for building up "bridges" among people in general and R.E. buyers and sellers.
Instead of you waiting for somebody to jump in and resolve JG problems in wins.INSTEAD of you hoping the the dudu man comes in and fixes jgordon problems, allow me to suggest: why don't you get right on and build that bridge between JG,R.HEND. and the million $$$ genious???.
Very appropriate and terrific idea, isn't it?.
Works for you,works for jeff, works for the DUDU, works for R.H. works for me....win,win,win for all.
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6-28-2008 @ 12:54AM
anzajoe said...
A real smart ass that #9 anna poster isn't she.
YEP dadada 3x8==..you are right, she really is.
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6-28-2008 @ 4:59AM
CJ said...
I have to say, that Tony Stewart, i agree, is the best option, and if they land him, it'll be the true Yankees of Nascar, and i really believe their can be a great rivalry within an organization. Im a fan of Mark Martin, and to see him come back would be nice, but if it's only for one year, than i'd rather not see it. Truex also would be a pretty good fit for the 5 car, but with previous two on the market, Truex is stuck in third. I do NOT want to see Brad Kelesowski in this ride, i dont think he has what it takes to run in Cup, and dont want to see him in this ride, even if it is a part timer. Now, if they want to move Kelewoski over to a possible Jr/Stewart buyout of Haas, that'd be fine, as long as Jr and Stewart were driving for Hendrick. I think Dale Sr made a smart move on doing that, and Stewart and Jr could take a page out of that playbook. As far as Mears, he's just a overhyped dude who i was hoping would scurry back to the pathetic open wheel ranks, but apparently he wishes not to do that. Now, if Ryan Newman is out, although i dont know if he'd get the 12 car, that could open the door for him to do some open wheel in some capacity at some point, but i think if Newman leaves, it'll be either Truex or David Stremme landing that ride, unless McMurray gets released from Roush which may be unlikely this year.
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6-28-2008 @ 7:58AM
Mike said...
Anna, good idea but I am not sure I could broker that deal. You see, you have to have the right materials to begin with. Let me give you an example.
In my profession there are a large percentage of people that ask to go look at homes before they ever talk to a lender. I try to explain to them that no matter who you are, the first step in purchasing a home is to secure the financing. Secondly, as I generally do not know the people intimately I need to get one of my loan officer friends to tell me if they are qualified to purchase a house and are we looking in the right price range. You would be amazed at the number of people that you learn are not qualified to buy but want REALTORS to take them out to look at houses. If they give me any excuse for not talking to a lender FIRST, I cut them loose. I do not get paid to drive people around and look at houses. I only get paid AFTER the deal closes. If you are not qualified to buy a house, I am NEVER going to get paid so get away from me so I can find someone with some money that wants to buy a house.
In the last few years I have taken to driving my motorcycle almost every day. You want to go look at houses with me AND you have talked to a lender? Great! You can follow me or I am going to ride in your car while you burn up your gas, tires, oil, and so forth. It weeds out the lookers and people that think I am damn tour guide and as a result, I am left with nothing but the people that are most serious about buying a house. My expenses are down and my income is up since I began this due to the fact that I no longer waste time with the people that go out and just like to look at houses but are really not serious about buying one.
Now, how does this translate to our situation with DA? You have to have the right materials to build that bridge or to broker a deal. I insist people talk to a lender so that lender will send me something in writing telling me they can buy a home. I have yet to see any proof that DA knows anything more than even the most casual of fans. I also doubt he is old enough to even DRIVE a car. So, it also follows that unless mommy and daddy have a huge trust fund set up for the punk, the millions is just a cyber dream. So basically, I could try to broker the deal, but it would never close.
mbl
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6-28-2008 @ 11:26AM
Susan said...
Kim, I am trying not to fret but it is hard!.
I did hear Tony say yesterday that he would be stupid to not look at the #5 opportunity before he makes a decision. I hope he does but I am inclined to believe that Tony buying half of Haas is a done deal. Tony will be co-owner with Gene Haas and Gene Haas will allow him to call the shots and hire and fire. Gene Haas is 'extremely' wealthy and he'll allow Tony to do what is needed to win. Tony will have the championship provisial to fall back on if he must. Hopefully the other car, will be in the Top 35 for Ryan or Truex.
I think anyone who thinks Gene Haas is selling the entire race team is wrong. Gene loves Nascar and from my limited knowledge of him, he wants to have a top tier team.
Rick may want Mark Martin in the 5 to help figure out what the problem is. Brian Vickers once said the car needs a new number because the car is jinxed. :)
Maybe they are looking at Mark for a year to help with the car/team and then they'll have more options for the following year.
Just a thought and JMO.
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6-28-2008 @ 12:32PM
Susan said...
OOPS SPELLING MISTAKE! - provisional :-)
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6-28-2008 @ 2:50PM
CJ said...
First off, the 5 car is not jinxed, it's been the driver Casey Mears. Kyle Busch did have success and won races, Terry did win a championship in it, and he did kinda go downhill after 1999 season, but i hate to say that drivers do that when they get older just as Dale Jarrett and Rusty Wallace did, and Terry still isnt tearing up the track in other cars either.Now the 25 car was, it didnt matter who they put in that car, it just struggled and Tim Richmond was a hellva race car driver, but the 5 car has won a championship so i dont buy that the 5 car is cursed. I dont know if the Tony deal is done, i do believe he's out of his last year with Gibbs, but it was Chevy that bought him out of it, not Haas. Also, im sure Haas would like to have Tony drive for them, but even if Tony is owner and not driving for them, he still can still a huge benefit to that team and make them so much better than they are now, so even if Tony didnt drive for them, then they still could up from where they are now. Plus, Tony did say yesterday that his announcement could be pushed back with the opeing of the 5 car becoming available, not to mention that Brad Kelewoski has been testing for Haas some this year as well.
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6-28-2008 @ 3:52PM
Susan said...
My mistake, Brian Vickers was talking about the 25 car.
CJ, I keep reading your posts where the Haas owner is in jail etc. Are you saying that you think Haas financially needs to sell the team? Or what? Maybe I'm misunderstanding you.
I think Tony is out at JGR and will be co-owner of Haas with Gene Haas. I'm inclined to think that Gene Haas gave him equity in the team in return for turning the team around.
JMO
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6-28-2008 @ 4:32PM
CJ said...
What good is he doing for his team being in jail? What intiative has he ever taken in making this team better, even before he went to prison? Why would a guy who "supposedly" and i say that loosely, why would this idiot cheat on his taxes if it's just a drop in the bucket compared to how much he allegedly has? And ive heard you say he did it "because he hated or was getting back at a judge", that is one of the most ridiculous reasons ive ever heard to cheat on your taxes, and i highly doubt he would risk jail time over money just to get back at a political person he hated, that's absurd! I think he done it cause he needed the money, he got caught, and i think he may be hurting financial and as i stated, has shown over the years that he has no interest of getitng talent until now and waited till both cars fell out of the top 35, it's obvious he couldnt afford to hire talent, or he just didnt care, and both would be reasons for him to sell the team altogether, and if he would be willing to sell half to Tony, then i dont see why he would be willing to sell all to Tony/Dale Jr.
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6-28-2008 @ 5:16PM
Susan said...
CJ,
Gene Haas has 18 months left in jail. He's a self made millionaire and ALL expectations are that he is very soon to be a billionaire if not already. He doesn't have to be physically working in the racing shop to do something. His very large company that he owns is doing very well.
Gene Haas is the Harley biker doing his thing. He also owns a company that is the number 1 machine tool seller in the world.
He did not need the money. He was ticked off by a judges decision that cost him money and did what he did. If you don't believe me then start googling. I wouldn't risk prison but he did.
He loves racing and Nascar. I think he'll do anything he can to make Haas a top tier team.
I may be wrong but I am certain that Haas is staying.
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6-28-2008 @ 6:49PM
CJ said...
If that's true, and he did what you said, than he's exactly where he needs to be. Im not saying he needs to be in the shop working, but Rick Hendrick and Richard Childress are at the race track, showing their support for their team and there to talk to their drivers and be an example of what an owner should be. Granted, they cant be their every week, and i understand that, but i have never seen, if rarely, Haas at the track, and that's before he went to jail, and that's the same for Teresa Earnhardt. And it's funny, i didnt think there was anyone more ignorant than that woman, but apparently i was proven wrong! Haas is a complete idiot and a guy like that has no business having his money, let alone being in a great support as Nascar, it can do without crooks like that! Also, by not paying his taxes, that's very unamerican in my opinion. I hate paying taxes just as much as anybody, but that's part of life, owning a business, and paying your fair share to make this a better place, for better schools, for firefighters who risk their lives, and for the service men and women defending this country, and by his stupid move to get back at a judge, that's taking money away from those great people and establishments, and he's nothing more than a stupidass, and i hope everyday in jail is a miserable one! It'll be great to see Tony back in a Chevy, and ill stomach it just as i do Dale Jr driving for a bribing cut throat car dealer as Hendrick is, but the less i see of Haas, the better, and as much as i'd like to see Mark Martin back for one year, Tony is the better option and if Hendrick has the opportunity, he needs to pick it up and not make another mistake like choosing Kyle Busch to cut instead of Casey Mears.
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6-29-2008 @ 12:41AM
anna seitter said...
MIKE, I READ YOUR COMMENTARY IN REGARD TO BRIDGES,and i share all your concernes about time waisters pretend buyers,but i think you are missing the point.According to his statement he earnes millions.If he wants to buy a house he will not need to baeg a lender and the lender will not have to assure you the formal green flag.The dudu24 will show up at closing deal with a 24hr leather folder
full of $$$, either his earned $$ or from his parents set trust fund, if his wealth stated success is the truth.However, you may be right, so better be safe than sorry because that 24 hr bag could be full of DU,DU(s...t)or false $$ purchased for peanuts on the china or north korean black market.
At last if he still is an adolescent like you said
those $$ could be monopoly papermishade. So, please beware.Have a nice day.
OH and mike, about nazcar looks like even more probable now, about TS joining HMS.That's if TONY is really going to look at the # 5 car option like SUSAN heard in his speach yesterday.
Can you imagine? allah-saint jimmy- jesus dale- satan tony, all in the same team?It will be the HOLY TEAM,now that TONY has been tuning in to saint
TONY lately.WOW, the gods of nascar, increase and improve. What a powerhouse at HMS?.
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