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Mechanical Failure Relegates Texaco/Havoline Team to a 27th-Place Finish at Martinsville
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (April 2, 2006) --- The Texaco/Havoline Dodge broke a rear-end gear on lap 220 of 500 at Martinsville Speedway, requiring the team to spend 43 laps behind pit wall making repairs. Driver Casey Mears returned to the track to finish the DirecTV 500 in the 27th position, dropping him to 10th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings.
"We broke a rear gear early on," said Mears. "We got a lap down too, but that was just because we started so far in the back. I really thought we had a pretty good car. I thought we'd be able to battle back, get our lap back and run pretty well. I don't understand it, because we broke a gear in Saturday's practice also. The guys will figure out what happened and make sure it doesn't happen again."
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Casey Mears, driver of the #42 Texaco Dodge, looks on during practice for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series DirectTV 500.
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Mears started the race from the 32nd position after his qualifying effort on Friday. The team struggled in Saturday's practices after the rear-end gear broke in the first of two practice sessions. The team changed the gear quick enough to get Mears seat time in the second practice before the race on Sunday.
The first of several on-track incidents occurred on just the third lap of the DirecTV 500 when the No. 7 and No. 8 cars got together. Unfortunately for Mears, he was right behind the accident and ran into the back of another car. The Texaco/Havoline Dodge suffered front-end damage, so Mears brought the car down pit road. The crew pulled the fenders out and beat down the hood. When racing resumed on lap nine, the No. 42 Dodge Charger was back in the 37th position.
Mears did his best to move up through the field, but the .526-mile oval made it tough. He moved up six spots by lap 75, but the leader Tony Stewart, and eventual race winner, was now in his rear-view mirror. He fell a lap down on lap 77 and was 30th on lap 85. The caution flag waved on lap 90 with just 26 cars on the lead lap. Mears brought the car, which he couldn't get to turn through the center of the corners, down pit road for an air pressure adjustment, four tires and fuel. When racing resumed on lap 95, Mears was sitting 29th.
Over the next 100 laps the team continued to work on the car as Mears fought to get in position to receive the free pass from NASCAR to get back on the lead lap. During a caution flag on lap 170, several slower cars elected not to pit, so when Mears lined up for the restart on lap 175 he had fresher tires than the leaders. On lap 179, Mears passed the race leader to get back on the tail end of the lead lap. The team hoped for a quick caution to ensure Mears stayed on the lead lap. Unfortunately, Stewart regained the lead and got around Mears on lap 187 to put him one lap down again.
Mears told crew chief Donnie Wingo that something was wrong with the car on lap 217. Just three laps later the rear-end gear broke, forcing Mears to drive the car behind pit wall for repairs. It took just 43 laps for the Texaco/Havoline crew to change the gear and fix the fenders from the earlier damage. He returned to the track on lap 262 in the 31st position.
Mears would ride out the remaining laps in the Texaco/Havoline Dodge avoiding trouble and gaining four spots as the attrition rate continued. He took the checkered flag in the 27th position, and slipped to 10th in the championship standings. The team is sending the broken gears to a specialist to get analyzed this week.
"I can’t believe we are still in the top 10," said Mears. "The way our last three races have gone, I can't believe we've maintained 10th in the points. Bristol and Martinsville are probably two of our worst tracks. A lot of our strong tracks are starting to come up. I'm really looking forward to Texas and Darlington. We had two top fives last year at Texas, so we should be able to get back in our rhythm."
His Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates Reed Sorenson and David Stremme finished 12th and 38th respectively.
The Texaco/Havoline team heads to Texas Motor Speedway next week. Mears will be competing in both the NASCAR Busch Series and NEXTEL Cup Series races.
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