Sirius NASCAR Radio’s Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody has learned that Casey Mears will not return to the #83 Red Bull Racing Toyota when the series returns to oval tracks at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 27. Road course expert Mattias Ekstrom will drive the car this weekend at Infineon Raceway, and no decision has been made on who will fill the seat for the remainder of the season. Mears took over the ride when Brian Vickers was sidelined by blood clots last month at Dover, with a best finish of 22nd and an average finish of 27.5 He finished 36th at Michigan last weekend after becoming involved in a crash with teammate #82-Scott Speed. (Sirius NASCAR Radio’s Sirius Speedway)(6-15-2010)
UPDATE: hearing that Reed Sorenson, currently a part-time Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series driver for Braun Racing [#32 Toyota] is the leading candidate for the #83 ride.(6-16-2010)
UPDATE2: Reed Sorenson will drive the #83 Red Bull Toyota beginning with the June 27 race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Red Bull Racing Team announced Wednesday. Sorenson will replace Casey Mears. “Our unique situation has afforded us the opportunity to try some different things, and we’re continuing to do that with Reed,” said Jay Frye, RBRT’s vice president and general manager. “We appreciate Casey’s work and everything he’s done the past five weeks.” Sorenson, 24, made his Sprint Cup debut in October 2005 at Atlanta. He’s made 148 Cup starts ‘Â three this season ‘Â with five top-five and 14 top-10 finishes. His best season came in 2007 when he earned three top fives and six top 10s, including his first pole at Indianapolis. In May at Dover, Mears began filling in for #83 driver Brian Vickers, who will miss the remainder of the season while he continues to recover from blood clots.(Red Bull Racing)(6-16-2010)
UPDATE 3: “Michigan was really our first legitimate chance to run together,” Mears said of the opportunity to work with [crew chief Jimmy] Elledge. “Right about the time we got into Scott is about the time things started going right. I think we were going in the right direction but we never got the chance to see it to completion.” Mears is keeping his options open. He’s spoken with Tommy Baldwin about a possible return to TBR, where he qualified the #36 Chevrolet 13th at Richmond International Raceway earlier this season and ran in the top 25 all day. “It’s a long year,” Mears said. “Jay said before the season’s out there might be an opportunity to do something again. My best run was with Tommy earlier this year. He’s running ECR (Earnhardt Childress Racing) engines ‘Â so there’s good power. I want to do whatever I can.”(FoxSports)(6-16-2010)
