RESILIENT MEARS ENDS UP 23rd AT KANSAS

Player Management International Media Release

Kansas City, KS (October 16, 2016) – After a challenging weekend at Charlotte, Germain Racing was determined to have a solid run at Kansas Speedway and get back on-track for a strong finish to the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The Hollywood Casino 400 was the perfect opportunity for Casey Mears and company, as they departed the 1.5-mile facility with a favorable result earlier in the year. After struggling during qualifying and ending up 29th, the team made positive strides in the weekend’s final two practice sessions.

While Mears would find himself at odds with a poor handling car when Sunday’s race got underway, he and the crew communicated clearly to determine needed adjustments for the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS. The changes were impactful, as Mears was able to make a considerably stronger run after the first pit stop on lap 27. From there, the Bakersfield, CA, native was able to more easily maneuver through the field, even briefly leading the race before making a scheduled green flag pit stop after 95 of the event’s 267-laps.

The race’s eight cautions played in Germain Racing’s favor, with the fifth being the most critical. Mears was awarded the free pass, which allowed the GEICO Chevy to return to the lead lap after having been two laps down.  The persistent team found themselves in the 21st position when the race returned to green. Mears continued to make progress after the caution, returning to the top-20 on lap 213.

Unfortunately, on lap 214, the GEICO Chevy lightly scraped the outside wall. While Mears was able to spare the car of any significant damage, it impacted the handling for the rest of the race. Despite battling handling issues, a resilient Mears was able to hustle to a 23rdplace, lead lap finish when the checkered flag closed out 400-miles of racing at Kansas Speedway.

“It’s been a rough year for us, but today was all right.  The GEICO Chevy was good at times and we were able to finish on the lead lap and get a decent result,” Mears said. “Nothing was stellar, but at least nothing went wrong, so that was good.  We’re looking to forward to getting to Talladega this week. We’ve always had a solid restrictor-plate program and we go to these tracks looking to win.  We will be strong this weekend and we hope to put the GEICO Chevy in victory lane.”

Germain Racing now eyes the fourth and final restrictor-plate race of the year, as they return to the high-banked, 2.66-mile superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama.

Casey Mears and the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS will hit the track at Talladega Superspeedway for the weekend’s opening practice session on Friday, October 21st, at 2:00 PM (ET).  Qualifying will follow on Saturday at 4:00 PM (ET).

The Alabama 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is on Sunday, October 23rd, and it will be televised live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 2:00 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.

To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.caseymearsracing.com

You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing

To learn more about Duracell, please visit: www.duracell.com

To learn more about Germain Racing, please visit: www.germainracing.com

MEARS ENDS UP AS COLLATERAL DAMAGE IN EARLY CRASH AT CHARLOTTE

Player Management International Media Release

CONCORD, N.C. (October 9, 2016) – Each and every week, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams prepare for any situation that may come their way. However, one thing will always remain out of their control: the weather. The last two race events have been impacted by rain and as Hurricane Matthew made its way up the East Coast on Friday and Saturday, heavy downpours would once again delay the green flag and postpone the Bank of America 500 until Sunday afternoon.

Under clear and sunny skies, Casey Mears and the GEICO Racing team were prepared for the 334-lap battle on Sunday. Starting from the 29th position, Mears quickly reported on lap 10 that the front end of the No. 13 Chevrolet was “terrible.” With a scheduled competition caution slowing the pace of the field on lap 25, the veteran driver visited pit road for four tires, fuel and a piece of tape on the grill, as Crew Chief Bootie Barker wanted to see how the track would change under the sunshine before making major adjustments.

On the lap 31 restart, Mears took off from the 29th position and after feeling out the handling of the GEICO machine, the California native radioed the car was “not any better and too tight to run the middle.” Unfortunately, just a few circuits later on lap 62, misfortune struck, as the No. 88 car, driven by Alex Bowman, blew a right front tire and hit the outside wall, collecting Mears and the No. 13 machine in the process. With significant damage, the Germain Racing crew was forced to take the GEICO Chevrolet to the garage.

After assessing the repairs needed, the damage was deemed catastrophic, hindering Mears from returning to the racing action and relegating the team to a 40th-place finish.

“I don’t know what happened,” said Mears after the accident. “I just was going into the corner and saw him (88 of Alex Bowman) come up all of a sudden. We were having a rough start to the race; just kind of hanging on and actually those guys were going by us. They must have blown a right-front tire or had something come loose.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series now heads to Kansas Speedway for the running of the Hollywood Casino 400. Mears and the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet will hit the track on Friday, October 14th for opening practice at 1:00PM ET.

The green flag will wave shortly after 2:15PM ET on Sunday, October 16th, with NBC carrying live television coverage. Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio channel 90 will feature the live radio broadcast.

Please visit www.GEICO.com to learn how you could save money on more than just auto insurance.

To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.caseymearsracing.com

You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing

To learn more about Duracell, please visit: www.duracell.com

To learn more about Germain Racing, please visit: www.germainracing.com

MOTHER NATURE, LONG GREEN FLAG RUN BETRAY MEARS AT DOVER

Player Management International Media Release

Dover, DE (October 2, 2016) – Germain Racing had Dover circled on their calendar after being collected in an 18-car crash with just 46-laps to go in the race during their visit to the Monster Mile in May.  Casey Mears longed for his return to the high-banked racetrack in hopes of seeking redemption after he departed the facility heartbroken in the spring.

Much as they did during the May visit, the GEICO team battled Mother Nature this weekend and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying would again be canceled as rain enveloped the Dover area on Friday.  The field was set according to owner points and Mears and his No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS would start 29th in Sunday’s race.

When the green flag got the Citizen Soldier 400 underway on Sunday, Mears and the GEICO Chevy quickly gathered up positions and made forward progress.  Unfortunately, Mears would begin battling an ill-handling racecar on just lap-10.  While the car proved to be a handful, the Bakersfield, CA, native continued to hustle his way around the high-speed one-mile oval, clocking lap times consistent with the front of the field.

His emotions from May would not differ much after today’s race, where only six cars finished on the lead lap and a challenging 200-lap green flag run left Mears struggling as he attempted to wheel an irritable racecar for most of the afternoon.  The Germain Racing team battled hard and, despite the circumstances, would score a 26th place finish and depart the state of Delaware with the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS intact.

“We had a tough day and the GEICO Chevy was a handful,” Mears said.  “Qualifying being rained out on Friday really set us back because it’s hard to start 29th at this place and get to the front, and the long green flag run certainly didn’t help us either.”  He continued, “We’re looking forward to Charlotte next week.  Everyone gets to stay at home, which will allow the guys to relax and we will show up on Thursday feeling refreshed.”

Germain Racing will enjoy next weekend at home when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to action at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Casey Mears and the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS will hit the track at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the weekend’s opening practice session on Thursday, October 6th, at 1:30 PM (ET).  Qualifying will follow at 7:20 PM (ET).

The Bank of America 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is on Saturday, October 8th, and it will be televised live on NBC beginning at 7:00 PM (ET).  The Performance Racing Network (PRN) 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.

To learn more about Germain Racing, please visit: www.germainracing.com

To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.caseymearsracing.com

You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing

To learn more about Duracell, please visit: www.duracell.com