STRONG 17TH PLACE FINISH FOR MEARS AND GEICO TEAM AT MARTINSVILLE

Player Management International Media Release

RIDGEWAY, Va. (November 1, 2015) – With four races remaining on the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, every lap carries importance to secure the best possible finish in the year-end point standings, while also building momentum to carry into the offseason. Casey Mears and the GEICO Racing team entered Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway with confidence of their ability at the 0.5-mile paperclip-shaped track, having notched the sixth fastest speed in final practice. After running as high as 11th-place on numerous occasions during the race on Sunday afternoon, Mears would survive the beating-and-banging short track action to cross the finish line in the 17th position.

Mears and the No. 13 Germain Racing crew were prepared for action on Sunday afternoon, but instead were greeted with rain showers during final morning preparations. While many wondered if the teams would even get a shot at competing due to the looming forecast, the field was able to not only start on time, but to complete every lap of the scheduled 500-mile distance.

Despite rolling off from the 19th position, Mears quickly moved into 12th-place before the competition caution came on lap 50. The veteran driver radioed to his team that the GEICO Chevrolet was “loose on entry and tight in the center” of the corner, a handling condition that would plague the driver as he was a victim of being shuffled to the outside lane and fell to the 22nd position. A timely caution occurred on lap 170, as Mears skillfully maneuvered around a multi-car wreck in front of the No. 13 entry and was able to visit pit road for fresh tires, fuel and adjustments.

The Germain Racing team’s solid performance throughout the race would garner much praise from the folks on the NBC Sports telecast team.  They would continue to impress as the race wore on. 

Mears recaptured the 11th position on lap 191, before once again being shuffled on the outside to 20th-place.  Over the final 50 laps, the California-native charged to the front and was scored in the 12th position with seven laps remaining.  As the race returned to green for the final time with just three laps to go, Mears was forced to restart on the outside, but pedaled hard and collected a 17th place finish when the checkered flag waved under the darkening skies.  Mears’ strong Martinsville run accounts for the GEICO team’s 15th top-20 finish of the 2015 season. 

“Our GEICO Chevrolet was better than where we finished today,” said Mears. “It’s both disappointing and frustrating, but I’m proud of how far we continue to grow as a team. To consistently run inside the top-15 and contend for a spot in the top-10 is huge as a single-car program. We were shuffled in the outside lane a couple times and battled back. If it hadn’t been for that last restart, I think we could have made more progress.”

Just three races remain in the 2015 season and Germain Racing will now turn their attention to the Lone Star state.

Casey Mears and the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS will hit the track at Texas Motor Speedway for the weekend’s opening practice session on Friday, November 6th, at 12:30 PM (ET).  Qualifying will follow at 6:45 PM (ET) and will air live on NBC Sports.

The Texas NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is on Sunday, November 8th, and it will be televised live on NBC beginning at 2:00 PM (ET).  The Performance Racing Network (PRN) will carry the live radio broadcast, along with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90. 

Please visit www.GEICO.com to learn how you could save money on more than just auto insurance.

To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.caseymearsracing.com

You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing

To learn more about Germain Racing, please visit www.GermainRacing.com