Casey Mears (left) will be making his second consecutive appearance in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Credit: Courtesy

Mears driving for Ganassi in Rolex 24

Cup driver to team with IRL champs Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Fresh from testing his No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge at Nashville Superspeedway, Casey Mears arrived in Daytona on Friday night and joined 2005 Indianapolis 500 winner and IRL champion Dan Wheldon and 2003 IRL champion Scott Dixon on Saturday for Rolex 24 at Daytona testing.

Mears turned his first laps in the No. 02 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley on Saturday and will share the car with the IndyCar duo in the twice-around-the-clock race January 28-29. It is the second consecutive year that Mears will compete in the premier race for the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series. He finished fourth in his maiden run last year with co-drivers Cort Wagner and former Formula 1 and Champ Car driver Stefan Johansson.

Casey Mears completes a test session for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Credit: Courtesy

"I'm excited about it," Mears said. "Dan and Scott are obviously really talented, and the team's a great team. For myself, it's just a great opportunity. Last year, we ran so well. At the point when we had the problems that we had (brake problems and a fuel issue) -- I think it was like 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning -- we were leading at the time.

"The speed is there, and I think the biggest thing the team has really focused on is making the car more dependable and also making it faster."

Mears is another name on an anticipated Rolex 24 at Daytona entry list that reads like a "Who's Who" of motorsports. Past NASCAR Nextel Cup champions Tony Stewart and Rusty Wallace have already announced their intentions to compete.

The field will also include several stars from open-wheel racing, such as Wheldon, 2005 Indy 500 rookie of the year Danica Patrick and Champ Car star Paul Tracy, in addition to a host of sports car racing stars, such as defending Rolex 24 at Daytona winners Max Angelelli, Wayne Taylor and Emmanuel Collard and past Rolex Series champions Scott Pruett and Max Papis.

"It's cool coming back here and seeing a bunch of people I used to race with," Mears said. "There are a lot of former open-wheel guys and current open-wheel guys. I raced against both Dan and Scott in Indy Lights. It's fun. It's good to see people you haven't raced with in a while. It's like seeing an old friend."

With Chip Ganassi Racing fielding entries in NASCAR, the IRL and the Rolex Series, Mears' efforts to find a ride for the Rolex 24 were made very simple. He points out that several of his fellow competitors in NASCAR would also love to compete in what has become North America's most important endurance race.

"Every time we go to run this race, it gets a lot of press," Mears said. "All the guys when we come back here for the [Daytona] 500 are asking, 'What is it like? Is it fun?' I think on the Cup side, I would say 95 percent of the drivers there are interested in doing it at some point. It's just probably that they haven't pursued it or maybe haven't been approached with the right opportunity. I'd bet that you could get at least half the Cup field over here if the guys were approached, because everybody is pretty excited about it and thinks it would be fun. They all consider it one of the big races."

Over the past few years, Stewart -- who is well-known for his ability to race competitively in several different kinds of cars -- has taken advantage of the opportunity to compete in not only the Rolex 24 at Daytona but other Rolex Series races that are held in conjunction with NASCAR events at Daytona and Watkins Glen. Mears is interested in doing the same thing.

"I'd love to," he said. "I've mentioned to Chip in the past that I'd love to run Watkins Glen or something like that where it's a companion race with the Cup cars. If the opportunity came around and the sponsorship was there, I think that the team would like to do it as well."