FanHouse CaseyMears

Where: Lowe's Motor Speedway
Time: Sunday 5:45 p.m./EDT
TV/Radio: FOX Sports, PRN Radio
Twitter: In-race updates at FanHouseRacing
Forecast: 64 degrees, 80% chance of rain
Distance: 400 laps (600 miles)
Pole Winner: Ryan Newman
2008 Winner: Kasey Kahne
First-time NASCAR winners have been commonplace at Lowe's Motor Speedway for quite a few years now. Jeff Gordon got his first there as did Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth and Casey Mears.

Sunday night, though, the favorites look to be of the veteran variety.

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Kevin Harvick and Casey Mears gave all the right answers in deferring to the boss' orders, but clearly neither driver was exactly overjoyed by Richard Childress' decision this week to swap their two crews.

"Everybody's positive about it,'' Harvick said, walking quickly to his team trailer after NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday.

"When you own the company you have to make the decisions you think are right.''

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TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Casey Mears met with reporters for the first time since being placed on a six-week probation by NASCAR for post-race antics Saturday night in Phoenix.

And they both essentially invoked the ol' "that's just racin' " clause and are ready to move on.

"I don't really have (a reaction)," Earnhardt said of the six-week punishment NASCAR issued Tuesday. "Me and Mears are cool. We've been buddies. What happens on the track stays on the track. It's good to be on probation every once in a while, I guess."

"Six weeks probation is a good penalty because as a driver you're kind of taught to watch yourself. For the next six weeks you get back in the habit of acting more professionally on the race track. It's good to have the penalty, but it's good to have the fireworks too."

NASCAR placed Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Casey Mears on probation for six weeks - effective immediately - for post-race contact Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway, ruling the two were guilty of "actions detrimental to stock car racing - hitting another competitor's car after the race had concluded.''

Mears' and Earnhardt's Chevrolets collided with 11 laps remaining in Saturday night's race in Phoenix sending Earnhardt from what looked like a strong finish to a 31st place effort instead. Earnhardt retaliated against Mears on the cool down lap after the race. And Mears responded by running into the rear of Earnhardt's car on pit road.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s performance -- or lack thereof -- in 2009 has become a contentious debate, last weekend's Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway lacked the pizazz we're used to at Bristol and a few drivers have struggled to put forth results that'll leave you scratching your head.

What, you ask yourself, does FanHouse's Holly Cain and Geoffrey Miller have to say on these issues?

Find out as FH's Wheel2Wheel takes a look at NASCAR's current stories and issues. Read on to see what we've got to say, and when you're done, tell us exactly how we're wrong. It'll be more fun than sneaking your family sedan on to Daytona's high banks for a late night joyride.

Well, almost.

Warning: Objects in this post may be the only way to successfully live through the NASCAR off-season. For best results, read rearview mirror early and often.

Driver: Casey Mears
Team: No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
'08 Final Standing: 20th (-3157)
Best Race: Toyota/Save Mart 350 (5th-place)
Worst Race: California & Bristol (42nd-place)

Season in a box: Mears picked up a win and finished out the 2007 season on note that looked like he might finally break the mold of the "fourth driver" at Hendrick Motorsports not performing like the rest of the team. Instead, by the middle of 2008, Mears found himself searching for a ride in 2008 after getting dropped by the team.

With NASCAR's awards banquet on Friday, Dec. 5 (stop by for the live blog!), here's a look at 10 from '08 -- ten of the NASCAR season's best moments.

Thanks to rain, it took the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series well over 24 hours to finish the Auto Club 500 at the newly-named Auto Club Speedway (enough Auto Club for one sitting? I think so) back in February.

And of course, like only NASCAR could, the way it handled the rain situation got some fans more than fired up.

NASCAR attempted to get the race going for its Sunday start as planned, but only 21 laps went by before a wreck that somehow saw Casey Mears get flipped over thanks to the nose of a slowing Sam Hornish Jr. It was an interesting wreck (see the photo to the right and the video later in the post) after flames shot from Hornish's No. 77 while Mears was basically trapped in his No. 5.

Mears and Hornish were able to get out without injury.

The wreck included Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Reed Sorenson, and a previous wreck saw Denny Hamlin smack the wall. After the lap 21 incident, the red flag came out for water seeping from the track and later more rain, leaving Dale Earnhardt Jr. slightly ticked at NASCAR's attempt to get the race underway.

ESPN.com's David Newton is reporting the driver who is replacing Casey Mears in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet in 2009 -- veteran Mark Martin -- might find himself getting a jump on that plan in the coming weeks.

Hendrick Motorsports is considering a plan that would put Mark Martin in the No. 5 car he'll take over in 2009 for the final race of this season at Homestead [-Miami] Speedway.

A contingency to the plan is getting Casey Mears, the current driver of the No. 5, into the fourth car at Richard Childress Racing that he will drive next season.

But in order to do that Mears would have to drive the No. 33, not the No. 07 that he is slated for because Clint Bowyer is driving that car in the Chase. Team owner Richard Childress said he is willing to put Mears in the No. 33 unsponsored if necessary.

"He won't go without a ride," Childress said.

Why wait until the last race at Homestead, you might ask? Well according to Newton, Martin is scheduled to drive in his current Dale Earnhardt Inc. part-time gig for the season's third and second to last races in Texas and Phoenix.

I'm not real sure, though, that making such a switch would truly benefit Martin or Mears (if ends up racing for RCR at Homestead).

As is usual in the era of NASCAR impounding the cars following qualifying for three of the four restrictor plate races each season, the top dogs in qualifying for Sunday's Amp Energy Drink 400 at Talladega Superspeedway aren't the normal ones.

In fact, one would have to look back 11 spots to find the first driver who's an eligible entrant in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.