NASCAR Legend Scheduled for His 500th Career Race
To make 500 career starts in the NASCARCup Series is a tall task. It would require a driver to run full-time for about 14 seasons. Many NASCAR legends have met this mark, but many more have not. NASCAR veteran Casey Mears will finally get to his 500-race mark at Pocono Raceway on June 14, 2026.
Casey Mears Gets Second Chance at 500 Races
Mears was originally slated to take his 500th green flag at Talladega Superspeedway in April of 2026. Rain ultimately affected Cup Series Qualifying, which meant the metric set the field. 41 cars were entered to race that weekend, and only 40 were going to make it into the field. That meant that one car would be sent home without ever going green.
Once NASCAR has to set the field by the metric, owner points take effect. The metric is set by: 70% of the last race's result, and 30% of the car owner's points standing.
Mears had not raced since Daytona, and with only one start, he fell short in owner points. Mears and the Beard Motorsports team were the odd ones out, and they were sent home from Talladega without ever getting to run a lap.
Beard Motorsports confirmed shortly thereafter that a spot would be found to give Mears his 500th career start. Beard Motorsports is a team that only races at high-speed tracks such as Superspeedway and Pocono Raceway, which is a 2.5-mile triangle that exceeds 170 miles per hour.
About two months after the unfortunate events at Talladega, Mears was confirmed on May 27 to be headed to Pocono Raceway in eastern Pennsylvania. Since 2022, Pocono has not had more than 37 cars entered. With 40 being NASCAR's maximum, it appears likely, but not yet ensured, that Mears will be able to be in the field.
The race will be Mears' 500th career start and 2nd start of 2026. Mears raced at the Daytona 500 for Garage 66, finishing 32nd and running at the finish.
In 2025, Mears was a common driver for Garage 66, in which he raced 5 times with a best finish of 18th at Talladega's Fall Race in October. Before that, he had not run since 2019.
Mears raced once in 2019 for Germain Racing at the Daytona 500, where he wrecked and finished 40th.
The last full-time racing for Mears was in 2016, which was his final season. Mears ran that season for Germain Racing, which saw zero victories and a best finish of 8th in the All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Mears' vast career had yielded only 1 career victory: the Coca-Cola 600 in 2007, while racing for Hendrick Motorsports. Mears raced for 4 different teams: Chip Ganassi Racing (2003-06), Hendrick Motorsports (2007-08), Richard Childress Racing (2009), and Germain Racing (2011-16).
The expectations for Mears at Pocono will be quite low. The track demands speed and handling, and a part-time car entered by Beard Motorsports is likely to lack speed. Unpartnered with a top team, the team will hope to run clean and stumble into a top-25 finish if all the chips fall their way. Nonetheless, Mears enters a new realm as a driver with 500 career stars, a mark fewer than 50 drivers have ever achieved.
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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 9:27 AM.