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 NEWS
 Mears Endures a Rough Homecoming at California Speedway By National Guard Bureau
 FONTANA, Calif. - It was a disappointing Sunday in California for Casey Mears and the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC team. After qualifying tenth, the team struggled with an ill-handling race car during most of the Auto Club 500 and finished four laps down in 31st position on Feb 25. "We were way off with our No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet today," Mears said after the race. "Something just wasn't right, and it was frustrating because no matter what we did, we couldn't get it to a better place. The guys gave a great effort all day, but we have some work to do on this car." The No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet, which will next race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 11, featured a different look this weekend at California Speedway. Sgt. Quinton D. Martin of Gulfport, Miss., had his image displayed on the hood of the car as the winner of the first-ever National Guard "Hero of the Year" award sponsored by Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. Martin attended the race weekend at California Speedway with his family. Problems surfaced quickly for the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet during Sunday's 250-lap race. Early on, Mears reported that the car was very tight and reluctant to turn off the corner. Lack of grip also was an issue from the start, resulting in a skittish car and a frustrated driver. When the first caution flag waved on lap 8, crew chief Darian Grubb brought Mears in for new tires and significant air pressure adjustments to help even out the car. The team returned to the track in 22nd after a solid stop. However, the adjustments didn't take hold as Grubb had hoped, and Mears radioed in that the car still had "absolutely no front grip." After staying out during cautions on laps 10 and 15, Mears gained some track position to move into 11th place, but was still struggling with an extremely tight race car and was unable to keep his No. 25 Chevrolet snug to the bottom of the track. He continued to battle the front end while loosing rear grip, making for a wild ride around the 2-mile oval: "It's like I have skis on the front end of this thing," Mears said. Grubb and Mears made the decision to pit under green on lap 52 to take four new tires, pull a rubber out of the left rear tire and change existing air pressures. However, the sizable changes came one lap too early: On lap 53, the caution flag waved and Mears fell off the lead lap when many of the leaders were able to pit under yellow. The lost lap would haunt the No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet team for the rest of the day. Though Mears chased the "lucky dog" award several times, the team could not get the lap back. Additionally, handling was not improving. Mears was driving not to wreck and reported that the car felt "sloppy bad" as the race stayed green. The team next pitted during a lap 93 caution for debris, and Grubb called for a track bar adjustment to accompany fresh tires. The car, however, didn't respond well, and Mears was now extremely loose into the corner with little to no forward bite. That loose condition persisted as the race continued, and the No. 25 team was unable to shake the problem. Through multiple pit stops and more adjustments, the car remained free and Mears was unable to make gains on the field. By the midpoint of the race “ lap 125 “ he had fallen to 33rd position. Unfortunately, the second half of the race was more of the same for Mears and Co. Through multiple pit stops under both the yellow and green flag, the car remained reluctant to respond to adjustments and skewed loose. When the red flag was issued on lap 244 following a hard crash by David Reutimann between turns three and four, Mears was still mired in slow traffic and unable to gain much track position before the end of the race. "I have a lot of faith in Darian and our No. 25 National Guard/GMAC team," Mears said. "I know we'll get this figured out, and we'll get back on track in Vegas."
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