|
Texaco/Havoline Team Finishes 30th at Talladega
TALLADEGA, Ala. (October 8, 2006) --- The racing was tight and clean at Talladega Superspeedway until an 11-car melee broke out on lap 137 that involved the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge. Casey Mears was driving in 15th when his Dodge Charger was sent spinning, relegating him to a 30th-place finish in the final restrictor-plate race of the season.
"It was a matter of time before something happened," said Mears. "The track is so smooth that everyone was running in one huge pack. You just hope going into the race that you can avoid the wreck, but today wasn't our day. I'm proud of the Texaco/Havoline guys though, we had a really good car. I could run up front as long as there was a car behind me. We'll get them before the year is up."
Mears and the Texaco/Havoline team started from deep within the field after qualifying 31st for the UAW 500. The field began running three and four-wide on lap 12, but remained incident free through the first round of green-flag pit stops on lap 31. Talladega Superspeedway officials recently repaved the 2.66-mile track, so the smooth surface was not wearing down the tires. Crew chief Donnie Wingo called Mears to pit road for fuel only on lap 32.
As the field recovered from pit stops and drafted back into one large pack, Mears found himself running 15th on lap 45. He hung around the top 15, racing three wide, until the second round of stops began on lap 60. Wingo brought Mears down pit road for right-side tires and fuel on lap 64. The first of six cautions waved on lap 72. The team pitted one lap later for four fresh tires, fuel and to clean out the oil drain tank. Racing resumed on lap 75 with the Texaco/Havoline Dodge in 29th.
After 25 laps of side-by-side racing, Mears worked his way into the top 10 on lap 100. He got drafting help in the middle lane and was leading a very quick drafting line. The racing tamed down on lap 106 as the top seven cars were running single file. Green-flag stops began on lap 107, and Mears came down pit road for fuel only on lap 108. He drafted back into the top five on lap 114, once again leading a train of cars through the middle. He was credited with leading lap 115, with the field racing three-wide.
The second caution flag waved on lap 129 for debris. Wingo called Mears into the pits for four tires, a chassis adjustment and fuel. The four-tire stop meant that Mears just needed to come down pit road for fuel one last time to make it to the end of the 500-mile race. Unfortunately, trouble would soon find the Texaco/Havoline Dodge. Racing resumed on lap 134 with Mears in 15th. The racing was getting dicey ahead of Mears when someone checked up about three rows ahead of him. The No. 99 car, which was running on the outside of Mears, was hit from behind and slid down into Mears. The No. 42 Dodge Charger spun and hit the wall causing serious damage to the car.
Wingo and the Texaco/Havoline team made several pit stops to repair the damage so Mears could make it to the end of race. The team worked feverishly to fix the car quickly, but the damage was so severe they lost two laps on pit road. When the green flag waved on lap 145, Mears was sitting in 35th.
The caution flag waved three laps later when Mears' teammate Reed Sorenson lost an engine. The team took the caution period to continue to work on the red and black Dodge. Mears was able to maintain the minimum speed required by NASCAR to remain on the track and finish the race in 30th.
Mears' Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates David Stremme and Sorenson finished the race 33rd and 39th respectively. Mears and the Texaco/Havoline team remain 15th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings.
Mears and the crew will race in their backyard next weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Mears will compete in his final scheduled NASCAR Busch Series race of the season on Friday night under lights before taking the green flag for Saturday's Cup shootout.
|
