To make 500 profession begins within the is a tall activity. It will require a driver to run full-time for about 14 seasons. Many NASCAR legends have met this mark, however many extra haven’t. NASCAR veteran Casey Mears will lastly get to his 500-race mark at Pocono Raceway on June 14, 2026.
Casey Mears Will get Second Probability at 500 Races
Casey Mears Offers Thumbs As much as Followers on the Daytona 500. (Photograph by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire through Getty Pictures)(Photograph by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire through Getty Pictures)
to take his five hundredth inexperienced flag at Talladega Superspeedway in April of 2026. Rain finally affected Cup Collection Qualifying, which meant the metric set the sector. 41 automobiles have been entered to race that weekend, and solely 40 have been going to make it into the sector. That meant that one automobile can be despatched house with out ever going inexperienced.
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As soon as NASCAR has to set the sector by the metric, proprietor factors take impact. The metric is ready by: 70% of the final race’s end result, and 30% of the automobile proprietor’s factors standing.
Mears had not raced since Daytona, and with just one begin, he fell brief in proprietor factors. Mears and the Beard Motorsports staff have been the odd ones out, they usually have been despatched house from Talladega with out ever attending to run a lap.
Beard Motorsports confirmed shortly thereafter {that a} spot can be discovered to present Mears his five hundredth profession begin. is a staff that solely races at high-speed tracks akin to Superspeedway and Pocono Raceway, which is a 2.5-mile triangle that exceeds 170 miles per hour.
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About two months after the unlucky occasions at Talladega, Mears was confirmed on Might 27 to be headed to Pocono Raceway in jap Pennsylvania. Since 2022, Pocono has not had greater than 37 automobiles entered. With 40 being NASCAR’s most, it seems seemingly, however not but ensured, that Mears will be capable of be within the discipline.
The race can be and 2nd begin of 2026. Mears raced on the Daytona 500 for Storage 66, ending thirty second and working on the end.
In 2025, Mears was a standard driver for Storage 66, during which he raced 5 instances with a finest end of 18th at Talladega’s Fall Race in October. Earlier than that, he had not run since 2019.
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Mears raced as soon as in 2019 for Germain Racing on the Daytona 500, the place he wrecked and completed fortieth.
The final full-time racing for Mears was in 2016, which was his ultimate season. Mears ran that season for Germain Racing, which noticed zero victories and a finest end of eighth within the All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Mears’ huge profession had yielded just one profession victory: the Coca-Cola 600 in 2007, whereas racing for Hendrick Motorsports. Mears raced for 4 totally different groups: Chip Ganassi Racing (2003-06), Hendrick Motorsports (2007-08), Richard Childress Racing (2009), and Germain Racing (2011-16).
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The expectations for Mears at Pocono can be fairly low. The monitor calls for velocity and dealing with, and a part-time automobile entered by Beard Motorsports is prone to lack velocity. Unpartnered with a high staff, the staff will hope to run clear and stumble right into a top-25 end if all of the chips fall their means. Nonetheless, Mears enters a brand new realm as a driver with 500 profession stars, a mark fewer than 50 drivers have ever achieved.
This story was initially revealed by on Might 27, 2026, the place it first appeared within the part. Add Athlon Sports activities as a
