NASCAR veteran Casey Mears will be making his return to the racetrack with a 5-race deal, having been inked with Beard Motorsports. The races Mears will partake in include: Talladega, Indianapolis, Daytona, Homestead, and Talladega. That final race at Homestead will, in fact, mark Mears’ 500th career NASCAR Cup Series start.
Mears retired from full-time racing in 2016, but he has continued to make select starts, most recently at the Daytona 500, where he earned 9 points. Beard Motorsports will now take five more shots with Mears, primarily at superspeedways, which are generally more forgiving to longshot drivers like Mears.
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Beard Motorsports is historically a superspeedway-only team. They have made 34 NASCAR Cup Series starts in the team’s history, 30 of which have been at 2+ mile superspeedways, and 28 of those have been either Daytona or Talladega.
Recent drivers for Beard Motorsports have included Jesse Love and Anthony Alfredo in 2025, Parker Retzlaff in 2024, and Austin Hill in 2023. The team now calls upon Mears, who has 495 career Cup Series starts to date with 1 career win.
Mears has historically been better at 2+ mile superspeedways than at any other oval track type. In his career, Mears averages a 22.8-place finish.
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Casey Mears To Race for Top-10 Finishes
NASCAR Cup Series driver Casey Mears (66) during qualifying for the Daytona 500. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
(© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)
Any NASCAR fan knows that superspeedways bring the disparity in competition to the fore more than any other track type. As drafting is paramount, speed and aerodynamics matter less on these tracks than on ovals and short tracks. Any car can catch momentum in the draft and be towards the front of the pack, including the No. 62 of Mears.
At the 2026 Daytona 500, Mears drove the No. 66 car of Garage 66. Mears went on to finish the race in 32nd place out of 41 cars, outlasting the likes of Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Christopher Bell, and Alex Bowman.
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Mears first race with Beard Motorsports will be at Talladega on April 26 for the Jack Link’s 500. With a maximum of 41 cars allowed into the race, Mears will likely qualify as an open car, as we expect no more than 41 cars, though that’s unconfirmed for now.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Mar 31, 2026, where it first appeared in the Racing section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
