Casey Mears: Mears had the car to beat - in essence, he PICKED the 500 winner. As Johnson's friend, it was natural to go with him and not Newman. Or was it because he's secretly a Rusty Wallace fan?
Kurt Busch: He had his ears pinned back in the off season? Does that make him more aerodynamic?
Jamie McMurray: A funny moment this weekend that most fans didn't see was when McMurray walked through the garage - fans were heard to exclaim "That's him? I thought he was blond."
Dale Earnhardt Jr: Can we stop the stories about his father's death? I know it has been 5 years, but does the guy have to answer these questions at every press conference? How many different answers could there be to the questions: "Do you miss your Dad? Do you think about him when you run here?"
Tony Stewart: Is it me or is he positioning himself as the successor to Dale Earnhardt? He's wearing Black, always quotable, aggressive on the track and not one to back down if he thinks he was wronged. Fans love him or hate him - very few are luke warm one way or another. And then there's his non-nascar driving. Wait a minute, maybe he's just trying to be AJ Foyt...
Matt Kenseth: Claims he was just "waving" to Stewart when he drove by. Note to Kenseth - a wave requires more than one finger...
Jeff Gordon: Why is it that when he and Stewart tangle, Gordon claims he was only 50% at fault? Wasn't this a near repeat of the Dover crash up last year? Didn't he learn not to slow down in front of Stewart or bad things will happen? Was he bored and wanted to go spend the rest of the race in the motor home/airplane with the girlfriend? And why weren't we promised a car crash war this time?
Elliott Sadler: Am I the only one who needs both a Virginian and a New England translater to listen to Sadler talk to his crew chief Tommy Baldwin?
Last weekend, Casey Mears was part of the Chip Ganassi Racing Team that won the Rolex 24 hours at Daytona. Mears' teammates were fellow Ganassi racers - Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon and former IRL champ Scott Dixon.
The Mears name is no stranger to victory lane: Casey's Uncle Rick is a four time Indianapolis 500 winner, and former champion of the Champ Car World Series. Casey's father Roger also was a racer. Casey definitely has the right racing pedigree.
In addition to the win, Casey became the first full time Nextel Cup racer to win the race. In his first attempt. Quite a feat when you consider that Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Petty, Kurt Busch, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Rusty Wallace, and Matt Kenseth have all tried their hand at the Rolex 24 without success. Stewart, in particular, admitted this week that he is green with envy over Mears' win.
Casey is entering his fourth season at the Nextel Cup level. To date, he has not won a Cup race, but did sit on the pole at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400 in 2004. At the end of last season, Casey had a couple good finishes and led races. But his highest finish last year was fourth.
This year, Casey has moved into Jamie McMurray's spot in the Ganassi stable. Casey takes over the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge with Donnie Wingo as his crew chief.
Hopefully, Casey can translate his success in the 24 hour race into success on the Cup circuit and bring the Mears name back to victory lane.
