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Texaco/Havoline Dodge Finishes 17th at Darlington
DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 13, 2006) --- The track known as "The Lady in Black" was tough on the Texaco/Havoline Dodge Saturday night. Casey Mears piloted the No. 42 Dodge Charger to a 17th-place finish and dropped to 11th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings.
"The car just wouldn’t turn tonight," said Mears. "The team worked on the Texaco/Havoline Dodge all night. At one point we made some major adjustments, but realized after we made them a tire was going down. That threw us off a little bit. I'm proud of these guys, but we have some work to do to try and figure out how to make the cars turn better."
Casey Mears drives the #42 Texaco Havoline Dodge during the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Dodge Charger 500 on May 13, 2006 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Mears started the Dodge Charger 500 from the 21st-starting spot. The green flag dropped as the sun set over Darlington Raceway. Mears was tight from the start of the race and slipped to 28th before the caution waved on lap 27. Darlington is famous for chewing up tires, so crew chief Donnie Wingo called Mears down pit road to adjust on the Texaco/Havoline Dodge. The team made chassis and air pressure adjustments while fitting the car with fresh tires.
Racing resumed on lap 30 and Mears was still battling the handling of his Dodge Charger. Mears fell a lap down to the race leader just a few laps before the caution waved on lap 68. The crew changed four tires, made another chassis adjustment and added fuel during the pit stop on lap 70. The crew noticed Mears had a tire going down that made the car tough to handle on that run, but Mears was now in position to earn NASCAR's free pass as he lined up for the restart the first car one-lap down.
The caution waved on lap 94 putting the Texaco/Havoline Dodge back on the lead lap. The team adjusted on the car again before racing resumed on lap 99. By lap 107, Mears was running 32nd. The No. 42 Dodge was 26th at the midpoint of the race on lap 184. Mears told Wingo the car was loosing rear grip and was still tight in the center.
The caution flag waved again on lap 211 for a blown tire on the No. 32 car. The Texaco/Havoline crew made a wedge adjustment and took some air out of the left-front tire before sending Mears back out onto the track in 23rd. Mears passed the No. 20 car, but received a bump from its driver just one lap later. Wingo told Mears to be smart and concentrate on finishing the race.
The No. 38 car spun on lap 247 bringing the yellow out again. The team adjusted on the car before sending Mears back out onto the track in the 22nd position. This would be the team’s last adjustment under the caution flag, as the remaining laps of the race would be run under a green-flag condition.
Mears worked his way into the top 20 on lap 300. Green-flag stops began on lap 313 and Wingo called Mears down pit road on lap 315. He came out of the pits right behind the leader in 21st, one-lap down. Over the closing laps, Mears was able to pass four cars to finish the Dodge Charger 500 in the 17th position.
This was Mears second top-20 finish at Darlington Raceway. He slipped one spot in the championship standings to 11th, just 15 points out of 10th. His Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates Reed Sorenson and David Stremme finished 11th and 25th respectively.
The Texaco/Havoline team will attempt to make the Nextel All-Star Challenge Saturday night in one of the Nextel Open qualifying races for a chance at a $1 million prize.
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