CHARLOTTE, N.C., 04/27/10 – Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) has named Casey Mears driver of the No. 36 Chevrolet, team owner Tommy Baldwin announced. Mears will be behind the wheel of the No. 36 starting this weekend at Richmond International Raceway for the Heath Calhoun 400. Mears takes over for Johnny Sauter, whose two-race stint as driver of the No. 36 ended this past weekend at Talladega, where he finished 41st.
“I’m excited to have Casey on board with the No. 36 and TBR,” Baldwin said. “It’s nice to have someone behind the wheel that is not only marketable but a proven driver as well. We look forward to getting out there at Richmond and seeing what we can do.”
Mears began the year driving for Keyed-Up Motorsports and also served as Denny Hamlin’s backup driver after Hamlin’s knee surgery. Mears is eagerly anticipating another chance in the Sprint Cup Series.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to go racing again,” Mears said. “Tommy is working hard over at TBR and he is really looking to build something there. It’s great to be part of that and I’m looking forward to this weekend at Richmond.”
Mears, a 32-year old native of Bakersfield, California, has 253 career starts in the Sprint Cup Series with a record of one win, 12 top-five and 46 top-ten finishes. Mears had his best year in 2007, when he won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, had five top-five and 10 top-ten finishes on the season.
Yeah Mears…Go get ‘em! Drive it like you stole it Casey. Nice job to all at TBR for picking a great driver and not letting his talent go to waste.
Excellent choice! Casey is full of talent, and one of my favorite drivers! Best of luck to TBR and Casey!
[...] Baldwin Racing has announced that Casey Mears will drive the No. 36 Chevy starting at this weekend’s race at Richmond International Raceway. Mears takes over for [...]
Swapping drivers all the time can’t be that productive. It may be time to realize that the drivers only have a small part in the performance of this team. The crew chief and quality of the race car that the driver’s are racing maybe the true problem.
Mike Bliss was signed to drive the full year in the 36 Chevy, lets stay loyal to that and put Casey in the 35 for acouple of races, if i recall Mike got 10th at talladega as where sauter caused a wreck!! Good luck to TBR and the 36 car!!
tbr has mostly all new equipment and i am sure tommy baldwin and kevin buskirk know what they are doing so go get em tbr and win some races!!!!!!!
Hopefully Casey won’t have to park it in the garage just handful of laps into the race as this team accustomed to doing.
Not sure I would pick Casey Mears as the new driver. As if he did well in the 90 earlier this year. I think that’s a wrong choice and I still belive that Mike Bliss should still be driving the car. I support TBR but don’t be stunned if you fail to qualify this weekend. If I were you, I would consider signing drivers like Ken Schrader, Tony Raines, Mike Wallace, Terry Labonte, Ward Burton, or Jeff Green. I’m no professional, but that’s who I would pick if I were running a Sprint Cup Team.
Excellent!!!! Go, Casey! What a class act. We look forward to watching Casey and TBR doing great things in the future. Best luck to you all!
Great choice TBR putting Casey in the 36. He has many loyal fans behind him!! He will do a good job for you!
Casey may be marketable but no one will jump on board with sponsoring him if he’s a start and park every race he makes.
excellent choice Tommy. Your one of the smartest guys in the garage. I hope you can keep this team running for many years.
Your garbage only runs 20- 40 laps anyway before there is a “vibration” so what is really the point
Please run the full race with Casey. Start & Parking puts you in the same catogory as PRISM Motorsports…
TOMMY WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO FIGUER OUT THAT MAYBE YOU ARE THE PROBLEM WITH YOUR TEAM? ALL YOUR DRIVERS CAN’T BE THE PROBLEM.
congrats to casey. glad to hear you’ve gotta ride. tbr looks to be a good racing team and your one hell of a racer too. good luck.
I hope this is Caseys ticket that he’s been looking for. If the cars are strong then Casey will get top 15′s and maybe top 10′s, no doubt about it. Go get em Casey.
Mears is a great choice, consistent driver, marketable, great with sponsors and fans. He’s not going to bring miracles but given good equipment and stability he will deliver top 20 finishes and better on a weekly basis. TBR can build on that for the future.
I’ve been following Casey since he was at Ganassi. I have all the various team apparel to prove it! When he was in the 07 for RCR I told him I was tired of buying new stuff! Tommy can he stay here awhile? If so I promise to be a loyal follower!
I think Casey Mears is an excelent choice of a driver. He never failed to perform at RCR, may not have run great, but don’t y’all have bad days too?
Sure maybe Casey hasn’t done well in the 90 this year, but put yourself in these owners shoes… Can you run a simple grass cutting company with just a weedwacker and a screwdriver? No. You start with a push mower. Then you work your way to them there fancy 0-turns and progress. What you see, in my opinion and with all due respect to Prism, TBR, and the other common “start and parker’s” is the same growth any business experiences. Ya know, by mid season, or next February, if these guys keep there heads above water, they will be established and it will be a whole new crop of start and parks. NASCAR is a business, and there ain’t a business out there that started operating right off the bat like an RCR or Hendrick, Ganassi, Petty and so on.
I tend to agree with the idea of a Kenny Schraeder, or those type folk, But Tommy Baldwin is far from inexperienced, and will make any operation work, if meant to be. He didn’t make it to owning a team just sweeping a floor.
Anyway that got way to deep for a simple forum. Good Luck TBR, hope like hell to see y’all get her together and run strong!
The 36 running middle of the pack in practice and qualifying 13th with Mears behind the wheel the first weekend out points to a good choice by TBR, hope it leads to a good finish Saturday night.
Casey Mears!!!! Awesome job TBR. Qualified 13th. I think we have a good thing going.
way to gooo TBR your won’t be disappointed I know Mears will be great!!! qualifing 13th gonna end up 1st tonight WOOOO HOOOOO!!!
Casey glad your back on the track. Nice race a lot of positive signs in your first race with TBR. Good job guys see you next week.
Great Choice TBR!!!! Casey will be a huge asset. Not only does he bring the talent and fan appeal, but he brings the glue to help the #36 team have a great season and future!
Go TBR #36 Team!!!!
good solid run for the frist time out got a few owner points and a racr car come home in one piece,a good solid start,lets keep up the good work there TB and CM
good solid run for the frist time out got a few owner points and a race car come home in one piece,a good solid start,lets keep up the good work there TB and CM
Good solid weekend,a few owner points,a racr car comes home in one piece.Great job Tb and CM,lets keep up the good work,and it will pay off.
Great job, guys! Hope to see you together for many races to come!
I was really glad to see Casey get picked up by TBR. Being at the RIR qualifier and watching him run the last car and qualifying 13th was great. Casey and crew did an excellent job qualifying and to finish the weekend with the #36 team having a very respectable finish. Nice job and great racing. Any appearances scheduled for Dover?
Thanks for tris interesting information! I found it very useful =)