By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — When Casey Mears last ran a national NASCAR race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2017, he never closed the possibility of returning to the sport again.
However, if he was to ever return, he made one thing clear: He wasn’t going to run around in the back.
For 2019, Mears will indeed return to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for the first time since 2016, partnering back up with Germain Racing with support from Jay Robinson and Premium Motorsports.
And though the ride was among the last entries for Sunday’s Daytona 500, Mears, 40, locked himself into the field on speed and feels he is perfectly capable of contending despite the team’s small budget.
“When you come to these superspeedways, road courses, places like Martinsville, these places are equalizers to an extent,” Mears said Wednesday during Daytona 500 Media Day. “I know I can take a car that isn’t top-notch ad go run inside the top five at Daytona or Talladega if we play our cards right.”
Running his No. 27 Chevrolet this week, Mears has been itching to get back behind the wheel since his last national start 15 months ago.
“When they asked if I wanted to come run Daytona, I said absolutely,” he said. “And it’s because we can run well and get a good result.
“I still don’t want to ride around. I really don’t have a desire to come here and run laps to get a paycheck. I’d rather run go-karts and spend money to do it.”
Mears has yet to lose his competitive drive that keeps him coming back to his 30-year career in racing
“I’d love to race more,” he said. “I wasn’t done when they said I wasn’t going to be back for 2017. I definitely wasn’t done in my mind. I would’ve loved to run another four or five years at least.
“Now that I haven’t been in the sport in a long time, I’m getting involved in other things. But people come up and ask me what I’m passionate about. I’m like, ‘Well, I did it for the last 30 years! I don’t know what else I’m passionate about.’
“Trying to find something that is second to motorsports — I raced from the time I was three of four years old. Having the last year-and-a-half to do something new, it has been enjoyable. But I’ve always hoping I can get back in a racecar.”
With nearly 500 Cup starts to his name, Mears feels experience will still pay dividends in the 500 despite the time away.
“Though it’s good to be young and hungry, our sport is a wealth of knowledge,” he said. “There’s not a lot of testing, so knowing these tracks and their history is valuable these days. It’s a constant compromise.”