Player Management International Media Release
Elkhart Lake, WI (August 27, 2017) – While the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series enjoyed its final off-weekend of the 2017 season, the NASCAR Xfinity Series visited the beautiful Elkhart Lake area of Wisconsin for their final road-course race of the year. Casey Mears and the Biagi-DenBeste Racing team were impressive when they hit the track with the No. 98 GEICO Military Ford Mustang. While it was Mears’ first-ever race at the famed road-course, he quickly made himself at home.
Mears opened up the weekend 16th in the first practice session before picking up speed in final practice, where he finished up as the ninth fastest racecar on the board. Unfortunately, Mother Nature would prevail when qualifying rolled around and Mears and the No. 98 GEICO Military Ford would be relegated to a 28th place starting position after weather forced the cancellation of qualifying.
Despite starting from the 28th position, Mears immediately began charging forward when the green flag signaled the start of the Johnsonville 180 on Sunday. The GEICO driver made quick work of the field, as he hustled around the 4.048-miles that make up the scenic Road America racing circuit. By the conclusion of stage one, Mears had the GEICO Military Ford up to 12th place. After pitting for four tires and fuel during the stage break, he returned to the racing surface, where he continued his trend of passing cars. His efforts were rewarded and when stage two came to a close, the No. 98 GEICO Military Ford was up to the ninth position, marking a 19-position march from Mears’ starting position.
On lap 27, just four laps after the final stage of the race got underway, Mears indicated that he received heavy right-side contact from a fellow competitor while running in the seventh position. Undeterred, the Bakersfield, CA native stayed on the gas and just six laps later the GEICO Military Ford posted the fastest lap on the track. As the race wound down, Mears never departed the top-10 and remained focused on securing a solid finish for Biagi-DenBeste Racing.
When the checkered flag closed out 182.2-miles of racing, Mears and his No. 98 Ford Mustang crossed the finish line in the ninth position, posting a strong run for the GEICO Military team.
“I had a lot of fun out there today; Road America is a blast,” a smiling Mears said after the race. “We needed a solid weekend and I’m glad we were able to make it happen and get a top-10 finish. The GEICO Military Ford was strong today and the Biagi-DenBeste guys did a good job on pit road. We are looking forward to getting to Richmond, which is just down the road from the GEICO corporate office, making it a special race for us.”
Mears’ next start in the Gecko adorned No. 98 Ford will come when the NASCAR Xfinity Series visits Richmond, VA.
Casey Mears and the No. 98 GEICO Military Ford Mustang will hit the track at Richmond International Raceway for the weekend’s opening practice session on Friday, September 8th, at 8:00 AM (ET). Qualifying will follow at 4:15 PM (ET).
The Virginia529 College Savings 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race is on Friday, September 8th, and it will be televised live on NBCSN beginning at 7:30 PM (ET). The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the live radio broadcast, along with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
Please visit www.GEICO.com to learn how you could save money on more than just auto insurance.
You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing
To learn more about Biagi-DenBeste Racing, please visit: www.biagidenbesteracing.com