"Rick Hendrick called me and said sorry": Casey Mears opens up on unexpected call that ended his HMS opportunity

Casey Mears has spent over a decade in the NASCAR Cup Series, but his start in stock car racing was not without challenges. He recently reflected on how his Xfinity Series deal with Hendrick Motorsports fell through after a call from Rick Hendrick.

After his return to the NASCAR Cup Series after six years at Martinsville last week, Casey Mears sat down with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his podcast. They reminisced about their racing days as Mears opened up about his competitive journey. He started his motorsports career in open-wheel racing with Indy Lights and Indy Car, driving for Bobby Rahal. Mears switched to Busch Series (now the Xfinity Series) in 2000 with Cicci-Welliver Racing and was looking at a full-time opportunity.

(From Left) Oriol Servia, Casey Mears, and Philipp Peter after the PPG Dayton Indy Lights. Source: Getty

Mears caught the eye of Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick, who was interested in Mears driving the #5 Xfinity Car for HMS. However, a conversation between his advisor, Alan Miller, and Rick Hendrick led to the deal falling through, which left Mears without a team for the 2003 Xfinity series. Talking about it on the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Mears said:

"For some reason, whatever conversation Alan (Miller) had with Rick (Hendrick) called me and said, 'Sorry man.' I thought he was calling to congratulate me, 'Hey, you got the ride. Done deal.' And he said, 'Nope, not going work out." (47:27 onwards)

Casey Mears and Jimmie Johnson were best friends at the time and suggested he let Miller look at the contract. Miller had worked with Johnson on his contracts with Hendrick Motorsports. However, things did not turn out the same way for Mears, leaving him shocked and searching for answers. He revealed that he has not yet had a conversation with Hendrick about why the negotiations fell through.

'We got to have you': When Chip Ganassi rescued Casey Mears' NASCAR career

Casey Mears during qualifying for the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Ford 400 at Homestead - Source: Getty

Casey Mears had opted out of his two-year contract with Cicci-Welliver Racing, expecting a five-year deal from Hendrick Motorsports. This left him without a team and uncertain about his future as he was out on his way to a vacation with Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

However, his career took a turn when a phone call from Motorsports Hall of Famer Chip Ganassi came in, as Mears recalled:

"I am walking down the jetway to go on this trip. It was at the end of the season. I get a call from Chip Ganassi or Andy Graves at the time...and they go, 'Man, we got to have you' and I thought, 'Okay, cool I will be driving an Indy Car for Chip (Ganassi). This is going to be awesome,' and I said, "Okay, what's the deal? What are you thinking? You want me to get back to Indie?" (48:50 ownards)

Mears was surprised to learn that they wanted him to drive the #41 Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series and not in the IndyCar. He would go on to race in 144 Cup Series races for them over the next four years before finally making his move to Hendrick Motorsports in 2007. 490 cup starts later, Mears expressed his desire to end with 500 NASCAR Cup Series races.