MEARS HAS SPEED AT LOUDON; FINISHES A DECEIVING 27TH

Player Management International Media Release

LOUDON, N.H. (September 25, 2016) – As Casey Mears and the GEICO Racing team returned to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the second and final time of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, a case of déjà vu plagued the No. 13 Chevrolet. Earlier this July, during the first race at the one-mile oval, Mears faced an ill-handling car and was relegated to a 27th-place finish. While yesterday’s story was different and featured better overall speed, a lengthy green flag run for the opening 125 laps presented a challenge at a track where passing is at a premium. When the checkered flag waved, the team found themselves in the same finishing position, as Mears took the checkered flag in the 27th position.

Starting from 31st-place, Mears quickly passed four competitors in the opening 10 laps to take over the 27th position; but by lap 35, the handling started to dissipate. The veteran driver reported the GEICO Chevrolet was loose on entry and exit and tight in the center. Crew Chief Bootie Barker encouraged Mears to “keep doing what you’re doing, man. Your lap times are good.” Mears worked his way up to seventh-place before being called to pit road under green for four tires, fuel, and minor adjustments, placing him in the 28th position after the field cycled through the scheduled stops.

The long green flag run ensued, until lap 124 when the first caution slowed the pace with Mears in the 27th position. When the leaders came to pit road, the GEICO Racing machine took the wave around to regain a lap on the track. During the middle portion of the 300-lap race, the team continued to work on the handling of the GEICO Chevrolet, with Mears clocking lap times as fast as the top-12 competitors.

With ten laps remaining, the sixth and final caution was displayed for a multi-car accident directly in front of Mears and the nose of the No. 13 machine. Using his impressive driving skills, the California native missed the spinning No. 17 car and kept the GEICO Chevrolet damage-free.  Once the debris was picked up, the field restarted with six laps to go, with Mears scored in the 30th position. In the closing laps, Mears made a mad dash and picked up three positions to cross the finish line in 27th-place.

“We were pretty good today and we were running top-15 lap times in the GEICO Chevy, but we just needed to be up there,” Mears said.  “The crew was solid throughout the weekend and we made a lot of changes and were able to find some speed.  We’re looking forward to getting to Dover since it is so close to the GEICO corporate office.  It’s always fun to host a lot of GEICO folks and I always enjoy my time with them. We appreciate all of their support.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series now heads to Dover International Speedway for the running of the Citizen Soldier 400. Mears and the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet will hit the track on Friday, September 30th for opening practice at 10:00AM ET. Qualifying will follow at 3:40PM ET.

The green flag will wave shortly after 2:00PM ET on Sunday, October 2nd, with NBC Sports Network carrying live television coverage. Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio channel 90 will have 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 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

THE WINDY CITY PROVES UNKIND TO MEARS AND GERMAIN RACING

Player Management International Media Release

Joliet, IL (September 18, 2016) – Casey Mears and Germain Racing arrived at Chicagoland Speedway looking to continue their string of solid runs as the season begins to wind down.  Weather would first wreak havoc with their plan when rain forced the cancelation of qualifying on Friday afternoon.  With the field being set according to Owner Points, Mears and his No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS would be forced to start Sunday’s race from the 29th position.

When the rain cleared, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was permitted three practice sessions where Mears and company demonstrated incremental improvement and finished up the day 20th on the board in final practice on Saturday.  Their focus quickly shifted to the 400-mile event slated for Sunday.

When race day arrived, bright sunshine and a large crowd welcomed the drivers to the starting grid.  Staring 29th, Mears and his GEICO Chevy made quick progress when the green flag turned the field loose for 267-laps of racing.  He promptly gathered up eight positions in just the opening four laps, putting him in 21st place and knocking on the door of the top-20.  Unfortunately, the racecar would betray him just a few laps later, as it started plowing and leaving the GEICO driver feeling as if he was on ice.  He would be forced to deal with this situation for the bulk of the afternoon.

As Mears became increasingly frustrated with the car during his team radio transmissions, things were further complicated when he was assessed a questionable speeding penalty during his scheduled green flag pit stop on lap 103.  Mears would be just one of a handful of drivers left scratching their heads by speeding penalties, including his good friend, Jimmie Johnson.  This setback proved challenging and the GEICO team spent the balance of the day attempting to regain lost ground while also dealing with an irritable racecar.

When the checkered flag brought a full day of racing to a halt, Mears and the Germain Racing team were relegated to a 34th place finish.

“That was painful, a long day, to say the least,” Mears said.  “We couldn’t get the GEICO Chevy to do what we needed it to do and the speeding penalty only complicated our efforts.  We’re looking forward to Monday and getting focused on Loudon.”

Few things are more beautiful than fall in New England and the Germain Racing team will now travel to the area to do battle with only nine races remaining in the 2016 season.

Casey Mears and the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS will hit the track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the weekend’s opening practice session on Friday, September 23rd, at 11:30 AM (ET).  Qualifying will follow at 4:45 PM (ET).

The New England 300 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is on Sunday, September 25th, and it will be televised live on NBC Sports beginning at 2:00 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

HARD-CHARGING MEARS 21ST AT WILD RICHMOND

Player Management International Media Release

Richmond, VA (September 10, 2016) – With just 11 races to be contested in the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, Germain Racing rolled into Richmond looking to put the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS at the front of the field.  A track that has often provided the team with headaches, they turned the tables on the ¾-mile raceway and found speed that saw driver Casey Mears in a position to be at the front in the final laps late Saturday night.

It was a fast Friday for Mears, who posted the quickest time in final practice.  Unfortunately, track conditions betrayed the driver and when qualifying was complete, Mears would be relegated to a 26th place starting position.  It would serve as little consequence, as he would quickly move the GEICO Chevy forward when the race got underway on Saturday.

On Saturday evening, the hot sunshine gave way to cooler temperatures when the green flag turned the field loose for 400-miles of racing.  Mears started his journey from the 26th position but, despite encountering a loose condition early, the crafty veteran made progress and began making his way through the field.

In a wild night of racing at Richmond, Mears managed to keep his GEICO Chevrolet clean, save for an incident on lap 279 where Matt DiBenedetto made contact with Mears and sent him spinning down the racetrack.  After a masterful save that saw him avoid contact with other cars, Mears collected himself, visited pit road for repairs and got back to work.

A record setting 16 cautions provided the GEICO crew ample opportunity to display their prowess on pit road.  Nearly every stop was executed in the 12-second range, while Mears picked up positions on the bulk of the restarts.  Their collective effort found them in position for a strong finish as the race wound down.

The 400-lap race headed into overtime, leaving two laps of racing when the event returned to green.  After visiting pit road for tires and fuel, Mears took the final green flag of the night from the 21st position.  Wasting no time, he charged into the top-15 within a single lap and was knocking on the door of the top-10 when Greg Biffle spun immediately in front of him as the field approached the white flag.  NASCAR opted not to display the caution flag and Mears was forced to bring his No. 13 GEICO machine to a near stop in order to avoid the spinning car, which allowed his fellow competitors to zip past him.  He managed to regain speed and despite the momentary setback, Mears made a final lap charge that netted him multiple positions en route to a 21st place finish when the checkered flag halted an interesting night of racing at Richmond International Raceway.

“We had a good night, made solid calls and had the GEICO Chevy in position for a strong finish there at the end,” Mears said after climbing from his car.  “I was loose most of the night, but we worked hard to make changes and I was able to pick up positions when I needed to and I was fast enough to get up through the field.  I had to get slowed way down to get around the 16 (Greg Biffle) when he spun in front of me there at the end and lost a bunch of spots.  Fortunately, I was able to get going again and pass a handful of cars to get back up to 21st.  All in all, it was a solid race for our GEICO team.”

Germain Racing will now set their sights on the Windy City.

Casey Mears and the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS will hit the track at Chicagoland Speedway for the weekend’s opening practice session on Friday, September 16th, at 1:30 PM (ET).  Qualifying will follow at 6:45 PM (ET).

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is on Sunday, September 18th, and it will be televised live on NBC Sports beginning at 2:30 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 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