Casey Mears Quotations

More than anything, the 24-hour race and everything leading up to the Daytona 500 on the Cup side was really positive. That gave us a lot of confidence going into the 500. The 24-hour race boosted the whole team's spirits. Anytime you're got guys thinking positive, it's a good thing.

I would hate personally to get penalized for something that my crew chief did that I didn't even know about.

For me to be the first guy, considering all the other drivers who have tried to do it, is pretty unreal.

I thought about going with Newman, but Elliott Sadler (who finished fourth) gave me such a good shove, I had to stay with him.

I think we're proving as a team and I'm proving as a driver that we can run up front.

I think at the end we sort of handed the win away when we didn't take two tires. We could have gotten out ahead of those guys.

Last weekend we had a solid run going, but the bolt on the sway bar broke while we were running in the top 10. Hopefully this weekend we can start to put some good finishes together before the end of the season. It has been discouraging, but I believe in this team's abilities and we will get after it again this weekend.

I think our car was better than a 20th-place car, but that's where we ended up. We managed to hang on to 10th place, but we've got to get things turned around if we're planning to stay there.

I thought it was fairly clean. I thought everybody respected the spirit of the rules. I think the whole bump-drafting thing has been blown out of proportion. It's what has made this sport fun.

This year we're a lot better prepared for it. We had a special paint scheme this year on my helmet and we're going to auction that off. That's going to go to the foundation, and my suits and all that stuff.

We need to get on the stick pretty hard. Texas is definitely a good track for us to get back on track. Knock on wood, but I think we've got a lot of good races coming up, so maybe we can rebound in the points.

We got some quick changes during the night that the other guys couldn't do. We spent the least time in the pits and that's what won us the race.

Bristol is a great track, but it hasn't been a good track for me.

At the end of the day it really doesn't matter to me where I race as long as I'm racing every weekend,

It was an eight-man decision on top of the box to take two or four, we decided to go with a conservative decision because we already had two cars in the fence that were running up front and doing good because of tire trouble.

Racing-wise I hate to see it go, but this sport is growing and changing. You've got to move with the times and do what's going to help the sport grow.

It's not like I was going to a brand new team with a brand new crew chief and having to start from scratch. We've got some learning to do, but right out of the gate we had the chemistry. We knew each other and it was easy to make decisions.

It's great to know that we have the opportunity to make a difference in so many lives and help The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Last year I didn't know what to think about driving a pink car, now I can't wait to race it. I was touched by so many stories that fans shared with me last year, that it is an honor to be part of Target's initiative again to raise awareness and money for a foundation that will ultimately save lives.

It's unbelievable. There are only a few big races in the world and this is definitely one of them. I can't believe we're sitting up here right now and that we won this race. Everybody's up late, you're tired, and there are a lot of things that go on. It hasn't even really sunk it yet that we actually won. It was so much fun and it feels great.

It was a bittersweet time, the highest of highs and lowest of lows. You feel so guilty even calling, trying to get that ride, but at the same time, it's the opportunity of a lifetime. I was starving for a job when Alex had his accident.

It was a great day for us. I thought about going with Newman for a little bit, but as soon as he pulled out, the No. 38 (Sadler) had a big run on me, so I had to stay at the bottom. He gave me a good shove to cross the start/finish line.

It was a good day for us; track position was so huge and right out there at the end we were running third, we had a big battle on the pit box on what we were going to do,

I'd have to be satisfied to leave the track Sunday with another top-five finish. Of course it would be better to win, and that's what we're going there to do. That's what 42 other guys are going there to do, too, but unless something's changed there's only one winner.

I couldn't be happier. The biggest thing is that it starts us out right in the points this year.

This is my fourth year in Cup. I was settling in with a team that has typically run a little bit better than we have over the last few years.