Casey Mears is one of the most talented restrictor-plate racers in NASCAR, and despite his last race at Talladega Superspeedway being in 2016, the skillful veteran’s performance over the weekend showed he seemingly never left.

Morning rain threatened Sunday’s YellaWood 500 before Mother Nature showed mercy, with blue skies and bright sunshine creating an ideal setting for NASCAR Cup Series Playoff racing. With only three races remaining on the 2025 Cup Series schedule and packed grandstands at one of NASCAR’s most iconic venues, Mears continued his pursuit of 500 NASCAR Cup Series starts, a milestone achieved by just 47 drivers in NASCAR history. Talladega marked start 492 for the Bakersfield, Calif., native.

In NASCAR Cup Series qualifying on Saturday, Mears was hampered by a wheel issue that relegated him to a 40th place starting position. Undaunted, the Bakersfield, CA, native settled in quickly when the green flag turned the field loose for 188 laps of racing on Sunday. Mears and his No. 66 S.I. Yachts/Acrisure Ford Mustang quickly gathered positions in bulk before settling in for a strategic afternoon of racing. He kept his S.I. Yachts/Acrisure machine out of trouble and exercised patience as the race passed the halfway point.

With just a few laps left to settle things, Mears and his No. 66 S.I. Yachts/Acrisure Ford dashed to the front, charging from the back of the pack and ascending as high as 13th. On the final lap, Mears was eyeing the top-10 before the field grew anxious, causing a shift in the draft in the shadow of the checkered flag. The savvy veteran skillfully avoided peril and hustled across the finish line in the 18th position, just ahead of Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin.

“Talladega is a track that can either break your heart or leave you pleasantly surprised; today we fortunately experienced the latter,” Mears said. “The S.I. Yachts/Acrisure Ford Mustang was solid, and I was able to move around in the draft, so I felt like if we could stay clean, we’d be in a good position. The crew on the Garage 66 team works really hard, so I’m happy we were able to have a strong run as we continue working to finish the season strong. I appreciate the support of S.I. Yachts, my former boss Bob Germain, and everyone at Acrisure who strongly believe in this program.”

Short-track racing is next up on the menu for Mears and Garage 66. Beating and banging will be plentiful when the No. 66 team makes its way to the ½-mile paperclip-shaped oval in Martinsville, Va., this weekend.

First, however, Mears will make his 600th career NASCAR start when he slides behind the wheel of the No. 69 The Pit Stop Diecast Ford F-150 for MBM Motorsports, the Truck Series component of Garage 66. The Slim Jim 200 takes place on Friday, October 24, at 6 p.m. ET and will air live on FS1. Radio coverage can be found on Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90. The Slim Jim 200 marks Mears’ first-ever start in the NASCAR Truck Series.

Casey Mears and the No. 66 S.I. Yachts/Acrisure Ford Mustang Dark Horse will hit the track at Martinsville Speedway for the weekend’s only NASCAR Cup Series practice session on Saturday, October 25, at 4:30 p.m. ET. Qualifying will follow at 5:40 p.m. ET.

The Xfinity 500 NASCAR Cup Series race is on Sunday, October 26, and it will be televised live on NBC beginning at 2 p.m. ET. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the live radio broadcast, along with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

PMI PR