Player Management International Media Release
Concord, NC (May 27, 2017) – Whenever Casey Mears enters the infield at Charlotte Motor Speedway, he is quickly reminded of his 2007 Coca-Cola 600 win. He piloted the No. 25 National Guard car to Victory Lane for Hendrick Motorsports on Memorial Day weekend and his relationship with the military continues to run deep. Mears was elated when GEICO announced in February that they would feature the GEICO Military paint scheme on the No. 98 Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford Mustang. The Charlotte weekend is always special to him and 2017 would elicit those same emotions.
Mears and his GEICO Military team got to work when the NASCAR Xfinity Series took to the track at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday. A home game of sorts, the teams and drivers are afforded the opportunity to slumber in their own beds during the final week of May.
Mears and the No. 98 GEICO Military Ford Mustang appeared to have speed when practice got underway. Unfortunately, the Bakersfield, CA, native would experience a failure in the right front of his racecar that sent him hard into the outside wall. The heavy contact caused significant damage, resulting in the Biagi-DenBeste Racing team bringing out the backup car. The team hustled to get the GEICO Military Ford ready, but Mears was faced with a formidable challenge when he arrived at the speedway for qualifying. Despite the setback in practice, he managed to secure a 25th place starting position in Saturday’s Hisense 4K TV 300.
When the NASCAR Xfinity Series took the green flag on Saturday afternoon in front of a passionate crowd, Mears looked to remain patient and gather positions as the day wore on. With 200-laps and 300-miles of scheduled racing, the GEICO Military Ford would be afforded time to make progress. He battled an ill-handling racecar, but the Biagi-DenBeste pit crew made adjustments during pit stops to assist in his effort. Mears broke into the top-20 and as the laps continued to count down, he managed to hold his position. 12 caution flags slowed the field over the course of the afternoon, but Mears managed to keep his No. 98 GEICO Military Ford out of trouble and score a solid 21st place, lead lap finish.
"It was a long day, but we managed to salvage a decent finish in the GEICO Military Ford,” Mears said after the race. “We obviously had the problem in practice, forcing us to go to our backup car. I’m proud of the effort that our Biagi-DenBeste guys put in to get the GEICO Military Ford ready for the race today. We fought handling issues all day, but the team made great decisions when it counted. I thought we did the best we could with what we had. Now we have to start focusing on putting together our car in order to be ready for Pocono.”
Casey Mears and the Biagi-DenBeste Racing team will hit the track at Pocono Raceway for the weekend’s opening practice session on Friday, June 9th, at 1:00 PM (ET). Qualifying will follow on Saturday at 9:35 AM (ET).
The Pocono Green 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race is on Saturday, June 10th, and it will be televised live on FOX beginning at 1:00 PM (ET). The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the live radio broadcast, along with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
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To learn more about Biagi-DenBeste Racing, please visit: www.biagidenbesteracing.com