Casey Mears out, Ty Dillon in at Germain Racing in NASCAR Cup series

Ty Dillon (Getty Images)
Ty Dillon (Getty Images)
Ty Dillon (Getty Images)

Ty Dillon will be moving up to the NASCAR Cup series fulltime in 2017 with Germain Racing.  Dillon grandson of team owner Richard Childress will replace Casey Mears who has been with the team for six seasons. The team made the announcement Monday.

Germain Racing earned two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championships and two top-10 points finishes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series before making the jump to the nation’s top touring series in 2009.

The team switched to Chevrolet and formed a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing in 2014; Mears joined the team during the 2010 season.  He had signed a one year contract with the team at the end of 2015.  Primary sponsor GEICO insurance announced later that same year they had reached a contract extension with the team and with Mears through the 2018 season.

Mears is the nephew of four-time Indianapolis champion Rick Mears and son of off road legend Roger Mears.  His best finish with the team came in 2015 when he finished 6th in the season opening Daytona 500.

“First of all, I want to thank Casey Mears for everything he’s done for our race team over the past six years,” team owner Bob Germain said. “He’s been an integral part of our growth and a great representative for GEICO and our many partners. Bringing Ty onboard is an exciting opportunity for us and we are committed to giving him all the resources he needs to reach his full potential. He’s a very talented driver and first class young man. I’m looking forward to working with him, as well as expanding our relationship with RCR.”

Ty Dillon,24, has made 17 starts in the Sprint Cup Series for several different teams, including Circle Sport/Leavine Family Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing. He scored a career-best sixth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in May 2016 while serving as a relief driver for Tony Stewart.

“I have been preparing for this next step in my career for several years,” Dillon said. “With my experience in the Camping World Truck Series and XFINITY Series, I am ready to drive full-time in the Sprint Cup Series. I want to thank Bob Germain and the entire Germain Racing organization for giving me this opportunity. It will be an honor to represent a brand and sponsor like GEICO which has played such a significant role in the sport for so many years.”

“Ty has done an exceptional job for us at RCR in every series he has raced in,” said Richard Childress. “He has won races at each level and competed for championships every year. Ty is a passionate driver and has shown that he is ready for the highest level of stock car racing. I’m proud of him and I am confident he will succeed. I have a lot of respect for Bob Germain and the organization he has built, and I know he and Ty will be successful together. I also look forward to Ty’s continued involvement in RCR’s XFINITY Series program.”

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.