veteran Casey Mears will likely be making his return to the racetrack with a 5-race deal, having been inked with Beard Motorsports. The races Mears will partake in embody: Talladega, Indianapolis, Daytona, Homestead, and Talladega. That remaining race at Homestead will, in reality, mark Mears’
Mears retired from full-time racing in 2016, however he has continued to make choose begins, most just lately on the Daytona 500, the place he earned 9 factors. Beard Motorsports will now take 5 extra photographs with Mears, primarily at superspeedways, that are usually extra forgiving to longshot drivers like Mears.
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Beard Motorsports is traditionally a . They’ve made 34 NASCAR begins within the workforce’s historical past, 30 of which have been at 2+ mile superspeedways, and 28 of these have been both Daytona or Talladega.
Current drivers for Beard Motorsports have included Jesse Love and Anthony Alfredo in 2025, Parker Retzlaff in 2024, and Austin Hill in 2023. The workforce now calls upon Mears, who has 495 profession Cup Collection begins up to now with 1 profession win.
Mears has at 2+ mile superspeedways than at every other oval observe kind. In his profession, Mears averages a 22.8-place end.
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Casey Mears To Race for Prime-10 Finishes
NASCAR Cup Collection driver Casey Mears (66) throughout qualifying for the Daytona 500. Necessary Credit score: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Photographs© Mark J&interval; Rebilas-Imagn Photographs
(© Mark J&interval; Rebilas-Imagn Photographs)
Any NASCAR fan is aware of that superspeedways carry the disparity in competitors to the fore greater than every other observe kind. As drafting is paramount, pace and aerodynamics matter much less on these tracks than on ovals and quick tracks. Any automobile can catch momentum within the draft and be in direction of the entrance of the pack, together with the No. 62 of Mears.
On the 2026 Daytona 500, Mears drove the No. 66 automobile of Storage 66. Mears went on to complete the race in thirty second place out of 41 automobiles, outlasting the likes of Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Christopher Bell, and Alex Bowman.
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Mears first race with Beard Motorsports will likely be at Talladega on April 26 for the Jack Hyperlink’s 500. With a most of 41 automobiles allowed into the race, Mears will doubtless qualify as an open automobile, as we anticipate not more than 41 automobiles, although that is unconfirmed for now.
This story was initially printed by on Mar 31, 2026, the place it first appeared within the part. Add Athlon Sports activities as a
