__NOTOC__ Roger Mears (born April 24, 1947 in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

) is a former off-road driver who also drove in the USAC and CART

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive event ...

series. He raced in the 1978–1984 seasons, with 31 combined career starts, and started in the 1982 and 1983

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

s. He finished in the top ten 17 times, with his best finish in 4th position achieved 3 times. Following his IndyCar career, Mears returned to desert racing. Late in his career, he raced in four events during the 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series season, racing for Hendrick Motorsports, including the inaugural series race at

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

. His best career finish, however, was a 16th at Mesa Marin. Roger is the father of NASCAR driver

Casey Mears Casey James Mears (born March 12, 1978) is an American professional off-road and stock car racing driver. He has raced in IndyCar, NASCAR's three national series including 15 seasons in the Cup Series, SCORE International, and the Stadium Super ...

, and is 5 years older than his brother,

Rick Mears Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is a retired American race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (1 ...

, a 4-time Indianapolis 500 winner. He also is an atheist. Since his own racing career ended, Mears has been heavily involved in Casey's career. He ran an

Indy Lights Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a progra ...

team, with Casey as the driver, before working as a consultant with both Ganassi and Hendrick Motorsports.

Racing record

American open–wheel racing results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

)

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

USAC

CART

Indianapolis 500

NASCAR

(

) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

SuperTruck Series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mears, Roger Living people 1947 births American atheists Sportspeople from Wichita, Kansas Racing drivers from Kansas Indianapolis 500 drivers Off-road racing drivers NASCAR drivers Hendrick Motorsports drivers