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RICHMOND, Va. - Casey Mears says he wasn't exactly stunned to learn that he'd be switching to the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet next season.
Mears said that once Dale Earnhardt Jr. was signed to drive the No. 5 in place of Kyle Busch beginning in 2008, a lot of things became possible, especially since it was expected that Earnhardt Jr. crew chief Tony Eury Jr. would join the team as well.
On Tuesday, Hendrick announced that not only is Eury Jr. following Earnhardt Jr. to Hendrick but that Mears will shift to the No. 5 team next season and unite with crew chief Alan Gustafson. Mears' current crew chief, Darian Grubb, will take a more internal role and aid in the transition of crew chiefs.
So Mears finds himself both excited and proud of what he's accomplished with the No. 25 team. After a sluggish start, Mears has climbed to 16th in the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings in his first season with Hendrick Motorsports.
Now he finds himself transitioning once more. Mears is no stranger to that. He changed teams at Chip Ganassi Racing the previous year, meaning he'll join his fourth group in four seasons when 2008 begins.
Mears is putting a positive spin on the changes and says he doesn't see an issue with continuity since Grubb will assist with the transition and since he'll remain in the shop with his former team.
"All the guys are still going to be there," Mears said Friday morning at Richmond International Raceway, site of Saturday night's Chevy Rock & Roll 400. "Obviously at some point it's going to be nice to have a good couple of years in a row with the same crew chief and all the same sponsors and stuff like that and just kind of build the relationships and carry it on over into the next season, but I think that's going to be an opportunity we're going to have next year. ...
"A lot of the guys that are on the team right now are still going to be part of the organization in some capacity. I don't know exactly how all that's working out yet. I've built relationships with all those guys. We're within the same team right now, the same shop. It's not like everything that we built this year is just gone now. It's all still going to be there. I'm looking forward to it. I think it's going to be fun."
Mears says this change is similar to the one he underwent at Ganassi entering the 2006 season when he shifted from the No. 41 to the new No. 42 team. That transition is actually giving him some comfort as he prepares to make his current move.
"That's why I know it's not going to be that big of a deal. When I did that from the 41 to the 42 it was an internal thing as well, and I already knew all the guys from the 42 team, and it was an easy transition," he said.
"Obviously the part of Alan and I getting to know each other a little bit more and getting to know the 5 guys a little bit more personally is going to be probably what's going to take the time to gel, but it's going to be totally different than starting this season as far as already being a part of the organization."
Mears is comfortable with joining Gustafson. He has guided Busch to two consecutive runs in the Chase For The Nextel Cup and is also the first crew chief within the Hendrick family that Grubb really got to know. The two made an appearance together early this season and spent time talking on the plane and getting to know one another.
Now, Mears is confident that the two of them can develop a relationship quickly and continue the string of success that Busch and Gustafson have brought to the No. 5 team in the last couple of seasons.
"Hopefully we can just continue what the 5 has been doing and hopefully run better than what they've been doing this year," Mears said. "I think a lot of the guys are excited. I'm very excited about it."
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