MEARS DRIVING FORCE IN PUSH FOR TV PLAY.Byline: Nathan Brown Nathan Brown may refer to:
NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. has come a long way in Hollywood in 14 years since ``Days of Thunder,'' a movie that brought stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States and Great Britain held largely on oval rings of between approximately a quarter-mile and 2. into theaters but fell short with critics because it lacked realism. Casey Mears Casey James Mears (born March 12, 1978 in Bakersfield, California) is the driver of the #25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports. He also drives the #24 National Guard Chevrolet in the NASCAR/Busch Series for Hendrick Motorsports. is out to change that. Mears, nephew of racing legend Rick Mears Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951 in Wichita, Kansas) is an American race car driver. He is the third of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991), and the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (1979, , not only is one of NASCAR's rising talents, he is at the center of a push by the sport for a piece of the entertainment mainstream. ``He has a great personality,'' said Sarah Nettinga, NASCAR's television liaison. ``He's a single, good-looking, talented NASCAR driver. What more could they want?'' Mears, a 26-year-old Bakersfield native, isn't riding in the draft of his uncle's four Indianapolis 500 victories. After the 23rd race of the 36-race Nextel Cup The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series is NASCAR's top racing series. It was formerly known as the Strictly Stock Series (1949), Grand National Series (1950-1971), and the Winston Cup Series (1972-2003). season, Casey is 16th in the standings, one spot ahead of Michael Waltrip. Casey also has twice won the pole position. He has one top-five finish and eight in the top 10. In short, he has earned the attention. Now, as Casey comes back to a familiar California Speedway on Sunday, he brings some television experience with him. In 1999, Casey appeared on Fox TV's ``Party of Five,'' a show on which he played an extra. But he mostly laughs at that experience. ``I wouldn't really say that that was an acting debut,'' Casey said. ``My mom knows a writer on the show and she knew I wanted to meet Jennifer Love Hewitt. Before I knew it, I was hanging out on the set and I met her. Then they asked me to come back the next day for shooting. It was fun.'' Casey also has spent time on the sets of ``The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' and ``The Jimmy Kimmel Show.'' He is the first NASCAR driver to appear on the soap opera ``Days Of Our Lives.'' He soon will be on a NASCAR edition of MTV's ``Cribs'' and has a spot on the movie ``Kirby'' that will be filmed at California Speedway. ``I've been in front of the camera my whole life so it's not really a big deal,'' he said. ``I've played my own character for the most part, so I'm really comfortable.'' All this thrills Nettinga, the Cal State Los Angeles product who supervises film, television and music projects for NASCAR. She has placed drivers in spots for TNT TNT: see trinitrotoluene. TNT in full trinitrotoluene Pale yellow, solid organic compound made by adding nitrate (−NO2) groups to toluene. , FX, Animal Planet, The Learning Channel, Nickelodeon, Discovery, Outdoor Life, National Geographic and MTV MTV in full Music Television U.S. cable television network, established in 1980 to present videos of musicians and singers performing new rock music. MTV won a wide following among rock-music fans worldwide and greatly affected the popular-music business. . ``Generally, the reason why NASCAR entertainment exists is to put NASCAR into the mainstream and find new fans in addition to our 75 million,'' she said. ``Why not 95 million? ``... NASCAR has grown up in rural areas. We want to focus on the urban market and speak to them more (through entertainment).'' Casey is hoping to improve on his eighth-place finish last May in the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway. Jeff Gordon, who hosted an episode of NBC's ``Saturday Night Live'' in 2003, won that race. ``We (Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in NASCAR, IRL, and Grand-Am racing. It is owned by businessmen Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. The team is based in Concord, North Carolina, which is a suburb of Charlotte. ) have always run well here,'' Mears said. ``I grew up here, so I'll have a lot of friends and family watching. It will be a big weekend.'' Nathan Brown, (818) 713-3607 nathan.brown(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: MEARS |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion