Germain Racing Puts Casey Mears and No. 13 Valvoline™ NextGen™ Ford Fusion Before Hometown Crowd in Kentucky
Valvoline global headquarters are a short drive away in Lexington, KY
Germain Racing has one win at Kentucky Speedway in the Truck Series
Casey Mears has two previous starts at Kentucky one in NSCS, one in NNS
Mears has 324 NSCS starts heading into KY with 46 top-ten finishes, 12 top-fives, one win and 3 poles
Bootie Barker is crew chief for the Valvoline NextGen Fusion; he’s been with Germain Racing since 2009
Germain Racing runs Valvoline NextGen Premium Blue in their team transporter
Mooresville, N.C. (June 25, 2012) – 
This time, Mears will put the NextGen colors before Valvoline’s hometown crowd at Kentucky Speedway— a short drive from Valvoline’s global headquarters in Lexington, KY.
“Kentucky is a good racetrack and it’s fun to go to a venue that the Cup Series hasn’t gone to a lot,” explained driver Mears, noting the delicate balance between handling and aero one needs to succeed at the 1.5-mile oval. “(The track) has a big uphill on the front stretch and an elevation change outside of turn four. It’s bumpy and a challenging track because you have to have your car handling right but also get the splitter as low as you possibly can to have some grip.”
Considering the top-20 finish the team secured in their debut of the Valvoline NextGen paint scheme two weeks ago at Michigan, this Germain Racing group has high hopes for the No. 13 Ford Fusion in Saturday night’s 400-mile event.
“We certainly want another top-20 result for the Valvoline NextGen Ford. Kentucky Speedway is the home track for the folks at Ashland, Inc. and we’d love to give them another strong finish like we had for them at Michigan,” said crew chief Bootie Barker. “Our team is very different heading into this race than where we were a year ago. Our equipment is improved, our team is more organized and focused and we are able to utilize our relationship with Ford and Roush to continue to grow the vision that Bob Germain had for Germain Racing for this season. We are really looking forward to putting our Valvoline NextGen Fusion on track before the Kentucky fans.”
To date Casey Mears has collected ten top-25 finishes in sixteen races in 2012. The effort has locked the No. 13 team solidly into the top-35 in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Owners Points which means the team can focus on race trim during the practice sessions rather than working solely on qualifying trim as in years past.
After 16 events, Mears ranks 28th in Sprint Cup Series points, a position he has held since the seventh race of the season.
About Valvoline: Valvoline, a brand of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH), has been serving American motorists longer than any other motor oil. The Valvoline family of products includes Eagle One™ appearance products, Car Brite™ car restoration products, Zerex™ antifreeze, SynPower™ performance products, MaxLife™ products created for higher-mileage engines and NextGen™ motor oil, created with 50 percent recycled oil. With approximately 870 locations throughout the United States, Valvoline Instant Oil Change™ is a leader in serving the quick lube market. Follow Valvoline on Twitter @Valvoline.
Follow Germain Racing on Twitter @GermainRacing or on the web at GermainRacing.com. Driver Casey Mears is also on Twitter @CJMearsGang.
GEICO Racing is on Twitter: @GeicoRacing.
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Race Details:
Kentucky 400 at Kentucky Speedway, www.kentuckyspeedway.com
Tune In: Saturday, June 30, 6:30 PM (ET) on TNT
SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90
NASCAR HotPass on DIRECTV Channels 795 – 798
On Twitter: @NASCAR, #NASCAR, @KYSpeedway
On Facebook: Facebook.com/KentuckySpeedway
Team on Twitter:
Casey: @CJMearsGang
Valvoline: @Valvoline
Germain Racing: @GermainRacing
Mears on Kentucky Speedway
“Kentucky is a good racetrack and it’s fun to go to a venue that the Cup Series hasn’t gone to a lot.”
“Kentucky has a big uphill on the front stretch and an elevation change outside of turn four. It’s bumpy and a challenging track because you have to have your car handling right but also get the splitter as low as you possibly can to have some grip.”
Crew Chief Bootie Barker on Team’s Goals at Kentucky Speedway
“We certainly want another top-20 result for the Valvoline NextGen Ford. Kentucky Speedway is the home track for the folks at Ashland, Inc. and we’d love to give them another strong finish like we had for them at Michigan.”
On evolution of team over last year…“Our team is very different heading into this race than where we were a year ago. Our equipment is improved, our team is more organized and focused and we are able to utilize our relationship with Ford and Roush to continue to grow the vision that Bob Germain had for Germain Racing for this season. We are really looking forward to putting our Valvoline NextGen Fusion on track before the Kentucky fans.”
Driver, Team Notes Heading into Kentucky…
Germain Racing has one victory at Kentucky (Trucks)
Kentucky will be Mears’ 325th Cup race
Kentucky is second of two races for Valvoline NextGen paint scheme for the No. 13 team this season
MIS was the first time Germain Racing ran this paint scheme in the Cup Series; the team has partnered with Valvoline since June, 2010
Mears and Germain Racing are carrying momentum into Kentucky after two consecutive top-20 finishes (MIS, 20th, Sonoma, 15th)
