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COMMAND PERFORMANCE BY MEARS IN THE DUEL 150’S DERAILED BY EMPTY FUEL TANK

February 18, 2016webmaster

Player Management International Media Release

Daytona Beach, FL (February 18, 2016) – Heading into the 2016 season, Casey Mears sits second in points in the last five Daytona races; a considerable achievement for any organization, especially a single-car team such as Germain Racing. The GEICO team has once again started off Daytona Speedweeks in quick fashion. After scoring a top-5 finish in the Sprint Unlimited on Saturday night, Mears turned around on Sunday and outhustled the majority of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series field to end up 13th in Daytona 500 qualifying. Wednesday saw Mears’ trend of speed continue when the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS shot to the top of the board where it finished up practice in the fifth position.

The Can-Am Duel 150’s would offer the Bakersfield native the opportunity to keep his momentum rolling. Starting from the 6th position in Duel number two, Mears and his GEICO Chevy aimed to notch a strong starting position in Sunday’s Daytona 500. A year ago, Mears was relegated to a 41st place starting spot after an engine gave way early in the opening Duel 150. Despite starting at the rear of the field, the GEICO driver rallied to a 6th place finish in the Great American Race.

When Can-Am Duel number two got underway at the World Center of Racing on Thursday night, Mears and his GEICO Chevy started the event from the sixth position. From the moment he took the green flag, it all seemed elementary to Mears, as he quickly collected two spots and jumped to fourth on the second of 60 laps. The front cars began to break away in a single-file formation and the No. 13 GEICO Chevy would continue to run solidly in the fourth position, even through a scheduled green flag pit stop on lap 38. When Mears brought his GEICO Chevy to the attention of the Germain Racing crew for a fuel-only stop, they promptly returned Mears to the racing surface, allowing him to retain his spot in the running order where he continued to hold the fourth position.

As the laps wound down, drivers became antsy and the ever alert Mears took full advantage when he rocketed by Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth to take over the second position behind Kyle Busch with just five laps remaining. Challenging for the lead, the GEICO driver seemed poised to collect a win on Thursday. Unfortunately, with just under two laps to go in the event, Mears fell off the pace when his fuel tank ran dry, leaving him 17th on the scoring tower, but also allowing him to avoid a massive last lap crash that sent a handful of drivers to back-up cars for the Daytona 500.

On Sunday, when the drivers take to the starting grid for the 58th annual running of the Daytona 500, Mears and the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS will begin their 200-lap journey on the outside of row 16, in the 32nd position.

“The Daytona 500 will be good. The GEICO Chevy is fast; the car is right, so we will be strong, but I really wanted to win this thing tonight,” Mears said in the garage after the race. “These guys at Germain Racing have done a great job getting this car ready for the Daytona 500 and we have had a lot of speed since we got here. I’m proud of our team and all of the hard work they put in to make sure we were in a position to be able to win the race when we got to the track. It was fun to run up front all night and we definitely had a chance to win this thing. I guess the silver lining is that we avoided that big crash at the end and will be able to use our primary car, which has been a rocket this week. Our guys are resilient and we’re already thinking about Sunday. We are here to win the Daytona 500 and that’s what we are focused on right now.”

The Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is on Sunday, February 21st, and it will be televised live on FOX beginning at 1:00 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 Germain Racing, please visit: www.germainracing.com

SWEET DAYTONA 500 QUALIFYING RUN FOR MEARS ON VALENTINE’S DAY

February 14, 2016webmaster

Player Management International Media Release

Daytona Beach, FL (February 14, 2016) – In last night’s Sprint Unlimited, Casey Mears was quick on the track and skillful in the closing laps, which ultimately resulted in a top-5 finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ season-opening event. He woke up this morning and turned his attention to Daytona 500 qualifying. All along pit road and across media channels, one could hear the chatter about Mears’ skillful talent for navigating restrictor-plate tracks. Today’s qualifying session also proved that the GEICO driver is pretty fast in single car runs, as well.

With 44 entries in the Daytona 500, Mears would be the 33rd car to take to the high-banked tri-oval to throw his hat in the ring for this year’s Great American Race. He charged out of the gate and after laying down a brisk lap of 46.332-seconds, the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS sat an impressive 13th on the scoring tower when the session was complete.

When the Can-Am Duel 150 qualifying races get underway at the World Center of Racing on Thursday, February 18th, Mears and his GEICO Chevy will start from the sixth position in duel number two. These races will decide the official starting lineup for the 58th running of the Daytona 500.

“It was great to have some speed out there today and 13 is a strong number; it has been good for us. I’m real proud of the guys because they put a lot of work into this race and we wanted to show our speed,” Mears said. “It’s a great opportunity to show what a team is made out of and I think everyone paid a lot of attention to detail and the work that the GEICO guys did was awesome. To be running in the groups that we’re running with here, the guys are doing a really good job back at the shop. We built our own body in-house at Germain Racing with a lot of information from RCR; but the fact that we’re able to repeat that and get that close is a testament to how hard those guys work. I appreciate everything they do. Last night was a great time and obviously we’ve got some speed, so I’m looking forward to the 500.”

While the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will enjoy a two-day break before returning to the track for practice on Wednesday, Mears’ schedule is full. He will make an appearance at a GEICO regional office on Monday before taking part in Daytona 500 Media Day on Tuesday.

The Can-Am Duel 150 qualifying races will be held on Thursday, February 18th, beginning at 7 PM (ET). They will be televised live on FoxSports1.

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 Germain Racing, please visit: www.germainracing.com

MEARS PLAYS ROLE OF MR. EXCITEMENT, COLLECTING A TOP-5 FINISH AT SPRINT UNLIMITED

February 13, 2016webmaster

Player Management International Media Release

Daytona Beach, FL (February 13, 2016) – Casey Mears and Germain Racing are coming off of their best season since entering the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2009. The winter was productive for the GEICO team, as evidenced by the speed they have exhibited in the opening days of 2016 Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway. Mears and the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS finished fourth in last year’s Sprint Unlimited and aimed to top that effort as they took to the starting grid for last night’s season-opening 75-lap shootout.

Starting sixth, Mears and his GEICO Chevy quickly jumped to fourth when the green flag got the 2016 season underway. He seemed to run effortlessly at the front of the pack for most of the night. Only once did he find himself descending through the field and that came on lap 35 when he was caught on the bottom and shuffled back to the 19th position. He recovered quickly and pedaled his way back up to the eighth position with 35 laps to go in the event.

On lap 43, Mears and his best friend Jimmie Johnson got even closer after Johnson’s No. 48 car made contact with the GEICO Chevy, bringing out the yellow and forcing Mears to make a brilliant save, as he traveled nearly sideways down the racetrack. Having sustained damage from the incident, the No. 13 machine visited pit road for tires, fuel and the opportunity to survey the affects of the contact. The Germain Racing crew quickly returned Mears to the racing surface where he reported that his Chevy SS felt out of balance. The car may have been out of balance, but Mears was not. When the race returned to green on lap 48, the Bakersfield, CA, native was forced to restart from the 16th position, but just four laps later was up to eighth, appearing to be unfazed by the damage to his car.

With 20 laps left to be contested, Mears took over the sixth position and remained there until the race took an unfavorable turn for Germain Racing with just two laps to go. Racecars began colliding around Mears and he sustained heavy damage to the splitter of his GEICO Chevrolet SS. Once hopeful for the win, he now found himself on the outside looking in. He quickly delivered his GEICO machine to the attention of a ready and waiting pit crew that paid prompt attention to the damage. They would pit a total of three times before returning to the track and restarting from the rear of the field as the Sprint Unlimited headed into overtime.

When the green flag restarted the race for the final time, Mears quickly began to charge around the 2.5-mile high-speed tri-oval looking to recover lost ground. He was also hoping the heavy splitter damage to his GEICO Chevy would not prohibit him from turning in the corners. The Germain Racing pit crew made perfect repairs, allowing Mears to regain real estate and make a mad dash to the front. Mears exercised his restrictor-plate racing prowess when in the final laps, he managed to pick his way through the field and hustle to a fifth place finish, marking an improbable comeback that converted tragedy to triumph. For the second consecutive year, Mears and the GEICO Racing team scored a top-5 finish to kick off their season.

“I’m so proud of the team and all of the hard work they put in over the winter to make sure we were ready for this season. Germain Racing is as prepared as we’ve ever been and it showed here tonight when we were able to remain calm, get the car fixed and have a chance to make a run there at the end,” a visibly happy Mears reported after climbing from his No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS. “It’s a great way to start the year. So much of the credit goes to our general manager Larry Rogers, Bootie Barker (crew chief) and everyone on the team that made it a point to work on the little things in the off-season and make sure we were moving to the next level; that we were ready for whatever may come our way. I’m happy for GEICO, Bob Germain, everyone on the team and all of our sponsorship partners. Now, we’re focused on Daytona 500 qualifying and having a strong run at the Duels and the 500 itself.”

The Germain Racing crew will get very little shut-eye before returning to the historic racing facility, where Daytona 500 qualifying will commence on Sunday at 1:15 PM (ET), live on FOX.

The Can-Am Duel 150 qualifying races will be held on Thursday, February 18th, beginning at 7 PM (ET). They will be televised live on FoxSports1.

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 Germain Racing, please visit: www.germainracing.com