Legacy Meets Opportunity for Casey Mears and Beard Motorsports in Return to Indianapolis
MT. PLEASANT, Michigan (July 22, 2026) – For Casey Mears, every trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway carries more meaning than the last.
The iconic 2.5-mile oval has long been woven into the fabric of one of the most accomplished racing families in America. Long before Mears made his first NASCAR Cup Series start in the 2003 Brickyard 400, his father, Roger, chased a spot in the Indianapolis 500 while his uncle, four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears, cemented his place among the track’s legends.
Now, as Mears prepares for Sunday’s Brickyard 400, the Bakersfield, California, native will write another chapter in his family’s history when he climbs behind the wheel of the No. 62 Gracie Foundation Chevrolet for family-owned Beard Motorsports.
It will mark Mears’ 14th Cup Series start at Indianapolis and the 496th of his career, moving him one step closer to his milestone 500th Cup Series start scheduled for the Nov. 8 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“Obviously, Indianapolis is a very special place,” Mears said. “With my dad racing there over the years and Rick having all the success he had, it’s always had a special place in our family. Then, to be able to sit on the pole in a Cup car my second year there was huge. That lap stood as the track record for quite a while. But beyond our family’s history, when you think about everything that’s happened there going back to the early 1900s, it’s one of those places that really represents the birthplace of motorsports. To be able to go there and be just a small part of that history is pretty amazing.”
Few drivers can appreciate Indianapolis quite the way Mears can.
One of his favorite family memories centers on Rick Mears’ dramatic fourth Indianapolis 500 victory in 1991, when he passed Michael Andretti around the outside entering turn one in one of the race’s recurring highlights. His father experienced Indianapolis from a different perspective, battling to qualify for the sport’s biggest race while driving underfunded equipment and knowing every four-lap qualifying attempt demanded absolute commitment. Those stories have only deepened Mears’ appreciation for the Brickyard as the years have passed.
“When you’re younger, you’re so focused on making the car go fast that you don’t always appreciate the magnitude of the place,” Mears said. “As I’ve gotten older, I appreciate the history so much more. Roger Penske has done an incredible job preserving it while continuing to improve it. It’s one of those places that deserves that kind of care.”
Mears’ own signature Indianapolis moment came in 2004, when he captured the Brickyard pole for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates in record-setting fashion. Two years later, he added a sixth-place finish to record his best-career result at the track.
While the NextGen era has brought about changes to how teams and drivers prepare for each race weekend, Mears still believes Indianapolis rewards drivers willing to search for every available advantage.
“There’s still a lot a driver can do there,” he said. “You’re always limited by what your car is capable of, but because of the nature of Indianapolis, where you place the car, how you use different parts of the racetrack, those things can absolutely make you faster.”
For Beard Motorsports, Indianapolis represents another step in the continued evolution of the family-owned organization.
Founded by the late Mark Beard Sr., the Michigan-based team built its reputation as one of NASCAR’s respected superspeedway specialists with its initial focus on events at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. In recent seasons, Beard Motorsports has expanded its schedule to include select intermediate and speedway events, including last year’s first appearance at Indianapolis with young driver Jesse Love.
This season marks another new chapter as the Beard family has joined forces with Mears for a five-race schedule designed to culminate with his landmark 500th Cup Series start.
“It’s been really enjoyable,” Mears said. “They’re a great group of people who are giving me the best piece they possibly can every time out. You appreciate people who are willing to put their best foot forward, and that’s exactly what Beard Motorsports does.”
Their first race together at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in June ended prematurely after an early pit stop led to a loose wheel, but Mears believes the abbreviated afternoon still produced valuable insight.
“The result wasn’t what we wanted, but I actually left encouraged,” Mears said. “We started too loose, but everything we changed through the simulator and with the engineers worked exactly the way we expected during the race. We had just gotten the car where I could really start driving it when we had the wheel issue. That gives me confidence because Pocono and Indianapolis have always shared a lot of similarities from a setup standpoint. We learned a lot about each other, how everyone communicates, how Darren (Shaw, crew chief) and the engineers work together, and that makes going into Indianapolis much more comfortable.”
The team’s notebook from last year’s Indianapolis debut adds another measure of optimism.
“It sounded like the No. 62 had really good speed there last year,” Mears said. “Any time you know a car has shown speed at a place like Indianapolis, that’s encouraging. Obviously, it’s a new year and NASCAR is always changing things, but having that baseline is valuable.”
With minimal, if any, track time before qualifying in recent years, preparation has shifted largely from the race shop to the simulator, something Mears admits is one of the biggest differences from earlier in his career.
“We’ll spend a lot of time in the simulator this week working with the engineers to build the best playbook we can,” he said. “With only about 20 minutes of practice, you have to arrive much more prepared than we ever did years ago.”
As realistic as Mears remains about returning to Cup Series competition on a limited schedule, he also believes Beard Motorsports is capable of outperforming expectations.
“If we come home with a top-20 or top-25 finish, I’d leave with a huge smile on my face,” he said. “I’m not racing every week like these other guys, and Beard Motorsports only runs a handful of races each year, so that’s a realistic goal. But if we hit on the setup and get the car handling the way we want, there’s no reason we can’t surprise some people. That’s what’s exciting about it. We just want to qualify well, have a clean day, bring the car home in one piece and have some fun. If we do that, I think the results can take care of themselves.”
No. 62 Beard Motorsports Team Roster
Primary Team Members
Driver: Casey Mears
Hometown: Bakersfield, California
Crew Chief: Darren Shaw
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Car Chief: Drew Mickey
Hometown: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Spotter: Bruce Danz
Hometown: St. Petersburg, Florida
President: Linda Beard
Hometown: Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
Over-The-Wall Members
Front Tire Changer: Shiloh Windsor
Hometown: Ada, Oklahoma
Rear Tire Changer: Michael Russell
Hometown: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Tire Carrier: Lamar Neal
Hometown: Halifax, Virginia
Jack Man: De’Quan Hampton
Hometown: Los Angeles
Fuel Man: Douglas Warrick
Hometown: Hamilton, New Jersey
Road Crew Members
Mechanic: Jack Gagnon
Hometown: Quebec, Canada
Mechanic: Mark Sanders
Hometown: Springfield, Ohio
Tire Technician: Mike Harrold
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Engine Tuner: Brian Trevino
Hometown: Statesville, North Carolina
Interior Specialist: Nic Hill
Hometown: Fort Myers, Florida
Engineer: Mack Kanupp
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Transporter Driver: Roger Lankford
Hometown: Lexington, North Carolina
