Plot thickens for Mears on set of TV soap

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- And Casey Mears thought NASCAR was convoluted.

But the sport has nothing on a network television soap opera, as Mears learned earlier this week, when he flew to Los Angeles to tape a segment on NBC's "Days of Our Lives." OK, so the network calls it a "daytime feature," but the rest of the civilized world knows the shows as soap operas.

Mears played himself on "Days," though he can't really explain the plot lines from the show.

But who could blame him?

"I've got a rough idea," Mears said. "Basically, there's this girl's girlfriend's lost. Or guy's. I can't even explain it."

	Mears gets his make-up done before filming his scene. Credit: JSI Studios

"Her boyfriend's lost," Mears' public-relations rep, Heather Kincel, interjected.

"Boyfriend's lost," Mears said excitedly. "I guess he's a big NASCAR fan. And wherever he is, he's strapped down in a bed somewhere, but he can still see TV. She's hoping that an advertisement on our car during the NASCAR race is going to get the message to him to come home."

Mears then paused to gather his thoughts, still a bit unclear.

"Or something like that," Mears said. "I'm pretty vague on the complete details, but that's the general idea."

Sounds good to us.

The segment will appear on the June 30 episode of the show, which airs at 1 p.m. (ET). Check your local listings, of course.

CASEY MEARS  •  Driver Page  •  World of Dodge

"It was fun," Mears said. "I had a good time. It was different. I don't think I'm much of an actor at all."

His acting must've been good enough, for Mears didn't even know the segment was being taped when he said his four lines.

"To be honest, I was kind of surprised when they were all clapping (and saying), 'Good job,'" Mears said. "I thought it was a practice run. If it wouldn't been the real deal, I would've put a little bit more into it."

What? A soap opera with over-the-top acting? Heaven forbid.

"I thought we were practicing, and they said we were all done." Mears said. "Must've been what they were looking for."

This wasn't Mears' first foray into acting. Well, at least into the world of big-time television.

	Mears films his scene on "Days". Credit: JSI Studios

"I've been on the set of 'Party of Five' one time," Mears said. "I wanted to meet Jennifer Love Hewitt, and this was probably '98-99. Through a friend of a friend, I ended up getting on the show and got to hang out. I came back as an extra one day. Basically, you're not an actor at all. You're just some body walking around in the background."

But this time, Mears was a star. And so was his No. 41 Dodge. The show's producers set up a pit stall, complete with sponsor logos. Target will love it.

The shoot lasted a half a day, and Mears later went to "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," meeting Leno after the show. He also went to the set of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" set and hung out with Kimmel and his crew.

But the real reason he went west was for the soap opera. And his family can't wait to see it. Mears said his mom, Carol, used to be a big soap opera fan.

"When I was young, she was huge into 'Days of Our Lives,' 'General Hospital,' all that stuff," Mears said. "She watched that religiously."

But when Casey got older, Carol had to stop watching television and run the race team for Roger Mears -- Casey's dad.

Casey, however, didn't watch TV with his mom.

"I don't even remember," Mears said. "I was watching cartoons at that time."

Cartoons. Soap operas. What's the difference?

Mears probably couldn't explain it.