Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
Casey Mears, nephew of Rick and son of Roger, will run a CART-Indy Lights doubleheader Sunday at Fontana.
By KEVIN KELLY
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 28, 2000
Casey Mears has the support of an entire California community and the blessing from his family.
He believes in himself.
The 22-year-old just has to convince those in CART he belongs in the series because of talent and not last name.
Mears, the nephew of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears and son of former CART driver Roger Mears, will drive a third entry for Team Rahal in Sunday's season-ending Marlboro 500 at California Speedway in Fontana.
His CART debut comes as five drivers, led by Gil de Ferran, vie for the championship.
"This is just something you can't pass up," said Mears, who lives in Bakersfield, Calif. "You get an opportunity to run a car for Team Rahal, which is a top team, at my home track. I'm going to get 500 miles under my belt going into next season. It's going to make me that much more valuable."
Now in his fifth season in the Indy Lights series, second with the well-funded Dorricott Racing team, Mears has had a year deserving of a late-season call-up.
He has finished in the points in all 12 races, won his first career race (Houston) and pole (Laguna Seca), led his first laps (Chicago), and had the fastest lap at Mid-Ohio.
He will be the first to compete in Indy Lights and CART events on the same day.
"It's going to be busier than anything I've ever experienced," Mears said. "I think more than anything it's just exciting."
Bobby Rahal promised Mears the chance to test one of his cars.
In September at California Speedway, Mears drove nearly 20 mph faster than he had gone before.
"It was just awesome," said Mears, who reached 227 mph. "It's a whole other feeling. I think once you get that 200 mph mark, every mile per hour is noticeably faster. When you're going from 200 to 205 to 210 and keep creeping your way up there, you can really feel it. It's just like anything else, do it enough, you start getting accustomed."
The performance impressed team technical coordinator Ray Leto and, more important, Rahal.
"I walked away impressed with his ability to handle the situation," Leto said.
Added Rahal: "He certainly proved he is at home in a Champ Car during the test. I'm confident Casey will be a fixture in CART for years to come. He has developed his skills in the CART ladder system and now he is ready to take the step to racing in the world's fastest, most powerful cars."
Rahal offered the ride and Mears accepted, pending approval from his father and uncle, who were present at the test.
"Uncle Rick, he was a little bit conservative on everything, which is great," Mears said. "He didn't want me to make a big jump too soon. I think there was a little bit of speculation after the test from Rick and my dad. But they saw how well things went, and they're really behind me."
Since the deal with Team Rahal is a one-race agreement, the Marlboro 500 is a 250-lap audition for next season.
Mears said there have been preliminary talks with teams regarding next season and he has tested with PacWest Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing.
CART's rival, the Indy Racing League, may be an option but, "obviously the first place I'd want to be is in CART because this is where I've grown up. That's the direction I want to go."
The goal Sunday is to be competitive and stay out of trouble.
"Everybody knows I'm going at this as a rookie," Mears said. "I've only had a couple days of testing. To finish is going to be a big deal. The test went so well there's a lot of high expectations.
"I really feel we can do well. A great finish obviously would push my career forward and launch it. A top five could push things forward too. We'll see how it goes. A finish period would be an accomplishment."
The engineering and pit crew working on Mears' car will be Rahal's test team.
"It's important that the normal operation of the team goes uninterrupted," Rahal said. "We're fortunate to have the resources at Team Rahal to undertake this opportunity and not affect the efforts of Max (Papis) or Kenny (Brack)."
To hear Leto talk, there's more pressure on the team to perform than on Mears.
"I worry about the intangibles -- a gear or engine or something silly that would prevent his one shot at finishing the race," Leto said.
"I just want to make sure we don't have any stupid hiccups. Bobby's given him the opportunity to show the rest of the world he should be driving at this level next year. I don't want anything the team does to get in the way of that."
HEIGHT: 5' 8"
WEIGHT: 150 pounds
BORN: March 12, 1978, in Bakersfield, Calif.
RESIDES: Bakersfield, Calif.
MARITAL STATUS: Single.
PERSONAL VEHICLE: 2000 GMC truck.
FAVORITE MUSIC: All kinds.
FAVORITE TV SHOW: Late Show with David Letterman and Home Improvement.
FAVORITE MOVIE: Tombstone.
FAVORITE ACTORS: Val Kilmer and Jennifer Love-Hewitt.
FAVORITE FOOD: Italian.
WEAKNESS: Girls.
BLOODLINES: Son of off-road racing champion and former CART driver Roger Mears. ... Nephew of three-time CART champion Rick Mears.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Will make CART debut in the Marlboro 500 Sunday at California Speedway. ... Won first Indy Lights Series race Oct. 1 at Houston. ... Is third in Indy Lights standings driving for Dorricott Racing. ... Will become the first driver to compete in a CART and Indy Lights event on the same day. ... In five seasons in the Indy Lights Series, has 10 podium finishes in 47 career starts.
-- Compiled by Kevin Kelly using material from Team Rahal.