Topic: Casey Mears

Casey James Mears (born March 12, 1978 in Bakersfield, California) is the driver of the #07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet Impala SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing. He is the nephew of four time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears and the son of Indy and off-road veteran Roger Mears.

After racing in go-karts for a season in 1991, Mears began competing in the SuperLites Off-Road Series in 1992 where he posted several top-three finishes. He moved to sprint cars in 1994 and finished third in the Jim Russell USAC Triple Crown Championship, with a win at Mesa Marin Raceway. The next season, he won the championship in the USAC series.

In 1996, Mears made his CART's Indy Lights championship series debut at the Cleveland Grand Prix and finished eighth. The following year, he competed full-time in the Indy Lights championship and in 1999 finished second, losing by 14 points. He was also just the fourth driver in Indy Lights series history to complete every lap in a single season. Mears continued to compete in the Indy Lights in 2000 and won his first race at the Grand Prix of Houston meeting in October.