Casey Mears will test at Chicagoland Speedway this week in preparation for the Tropicana 400 on July 11. Mears had a season-best starting position of fourth there last season but finished 34th. Mears generally refrains from being a major player in NASCAR’s As the Wheel Turns soap opera, but after this weekend’s race at Pocono, the 26-year-old driver of the #41 Target Dodge will fly to Los Angeles to play himself in an episode of Days of Our Lives. “We’re always looking for more exposure for the sport and more exposure for me,” Mears says. “I think it will be a great experience, but the funny thing is I’m really not a soap-opera guy.” This won’t be Mears’ first network experience. Several years ago, after Mears expressed interest in meeting Jennifer Love Hewitt, he was an extra on the since-cancelled Party of Five.(FoxSports/Sporting News)(6-7-2004)
