MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA – MARCH 30: Casey Mears, driver of the #66 Canter Power Systems Ford, waves to fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway on March 30, 2025 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
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Nascar veteran Casey Mears will continue to inch closer to making his 500th Cup Series start.
The 47-year-old racer, who hadn’t competed in Nascar since 2019, suddenly made his return to the Cup Series with Garage 66 at Martinsville Speedway earlier this year. Mears announced this week he will compete in the final three races of the Cup Series season at Talladega, Martinsville and Phoenix.
The Germain family, who are the former owners of Germain Racing, will sponsor Mears’ effort with S.I. Yachts. Mears competed for Germain Racing from 2010 through his retirement from full-time racing in 2016 (plus the 2019 Daytona 500).
“I’m excited we were able to put these three races together, and I appreciate the ongoing support from Bob Germain, S.I. Yachts, and Acrisure,” Mears said. “Given our close friendship, it’s touching that Bob is willing to invest in me after all these years; it shows his character and who he is as a person. It also means a lot that Acrisure continues to support us; they stepped up first this year at Martinsville and helped get this program started. Thanks to Carl Long and Garage 66 for all of their hard work because they’ve worked hard to ramp up and make it happen.”
Mears currently has 491 Cup Series starts on his resume. Along with Martinsville, he also competed at Daytona this summer.
Germain Racing closed its doors at the end of the 2020 Cup Series season, when longtime sponsor Geico announced it would not return. Mears was Germain’s first full-time driver in the Cup Series before Ty Dillon took over the No. 13 car.