Casey Mears reaches 500th NASCAR Cup start

Casey Mears has made 500 NASCAR Cup starts, having competed since February 2003, which makes him only the 50th driver in the series' history to reach that figure.

Going into the race weekend, Mears said he felt appreciative of the opportunity to keep racing, noting that it is fairly rare for a driver to spend a long time out of the sport and then return to take part.