by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Beard Motorsports, @BeardOil62
Casey Mears picked up the 6th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway when his #62 The Gracie Foundation Chevrolet fell out with mechanical issues after 131 of 189 laps.
The finish, which came in Mears’ 499th series start, was his first of the season and first in a Cup Series race since February 17, 2019 in the Daytona 500, 285 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 3rd due to mechanical issues, the 20th for the #62, and the 898th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 16th citing mechanical issues, the 32nd for the #62, and the 2,070th for Chevrolet.
With the finish, Connor Zilisch has locked-up the 2026 LASTCAR Cup Series Championship with two races to go. Zilisch, who finished 29th on Sunday, becomes the first rookie to win the title since Andy Houston in 2001.
Last season, Mears made his return to the Cup Series for the first time in more than six seasons when he secured a part-time effort with Carl Long’s Garage 66 effort. The 47-year-old turned his first laps in NASCAR’s NextGen car at Martinsville, where he finished 35th out of the 38 starters. This led to a reunion with Bob Germain, for whom he last competed full-time from late 2010 through the end of 2016. Carrying sponsorship from S.I. Yachts, owned by Germain, Mears made another five starts with a best finish of 18th in the fall Talladega race. This led to a crowning achievement in this year’s Daytona 500, where Mears raced his way into the field thanks to a last-lap crash at the Final Transfer Spot, but later damage resulted in a 32nd-place finish.
For Sunday, Mears made his fifth start of the year, this time at Beard Motorsports (no relation) in their #62 Chevrolet. Looking to bounce back from a DNQ in the spring race, the result of a rained-out qualifying session, the Beard team had also failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 after Anthony Alfredo’s car was caught with a post-race technical infraction. Carrying logos for The Gracie Foundation, Inc., a program that donates care packages to women undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Mears made both Pocono and Indianapolis, but crashed out both times. His luck had hardly improved at Daytona in August, where he finished 37th in a field of 40. But at Talladega, Mears would come one step closer to his 500th career Cup start, which he plans to make in the season finale at Homestead in two weeks.
As one of 40 drivers entered for as many starting spots, Mears was this time assured a place in the field. His was the first car to go out on track in qualifying, where he secured the 34th starting spot with a best lap of 52.253 seconds (183.227mph).
Taking the 40th and final starting spot was Gray Gaulding, Garage 66’s latest driver, who returned for the first time since Charlotte in the #66 Randy Blain Construction Ford. He’d be joined by 20th-place starter Cole Custer in the #41 Sysco / Eggs Up Grill Chevrolet and 24th-place Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in the #47 NOS Energy Chevrolet, who both incurred pre-race penalties for unapproved adjustments. Also sent to the back was 30th-place qualifier Ty Dillon for unapproved adjustments after inspection on his #10 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet. This penalty also required Dillon serve a pass-through penalty after the green flag. During the pace laps, Carson Hocevar made an unscheduled stop to check his right-front corner as he ran over a wheel chuck on pit road. He then returned to his original starting spot in 26th.
When the green flag dropped, Dillon started to the outside of his Kaulig Racing teammate A.J. Allmendinger, who qualified 37th in the #16 Morris-Shea Bridge Co. Inc. Chevrolet. As Dillon came up to speed, 39th-place qualifier Noah Gragson pulled to his inside in the #4 Rush Truck Centers Ford, and both were tied to the thousandth of a second as to their interval to the leader (3.128 seconds). Gragson then pulled to the high lane, where he immediately started passing cars, while Dillon remained in the tire tracks of Allmendinger. Coming off Turn 4, Dillon then slowed and served his pass-through, letting the field pull away into the tri-oval. “No reason to push it,” said Dillon’s crew. “Don’t slide them (tires).” Dillon exited the pits and immediately crossed the stripe, showing 22.561 seconds back of the lead.
Now stranded, it was only a matter of time until Dillon lost a lap to the lead pack, which at the time was still just 1.715 seconds apart from end-to-end. On Lap 3, he was 32.886 seconds back of the lead, then 40.469 on Lap 6, and 43.996 on Lap 6, when he held the high lane through Turns 3 and 4. That time by, Dillon radioed that he saw debris entering the tri-oval, but NASCAR didn’t throw the caution. On Lap 8, Dillon then pulled to the low lane in the tri-oval, ad on Lap 9, was 46.119 seconds back of the lead. It was then that Dillon radioed, “They’re not catching me – I’m pulling away.” He was right, as the leaders were again saving fuel. On Lap 10, both Dillon by himself and the last few cars in the lead pack were each running laps in the 53-second bracket. On Lap 11, Dillon was 50.614 seconds back of the led, but still on the lead lap, then 52.125 on Lap 12, and 53.412 at the start of Lap 13. It wasn’t until the exit of Turn 4 that the leaders passed him to the outside, but they did this so slowly that Dillon easily pulled into the open space behind Chris Buescher’s #17 Kroger / Thomas’ Protein English Muffins / Oscar Mayer Ford, the fourth car back on the inside line.
Now keeping pace with the leaders running partial throttle, Dillon remained behind Buescher until Lap 20, when he oved to the inside lane. His spotter wanted him to keep drafting the Fords, but instead linked up with Shane Van Gisbergen’s #97 Red Bull Chevrolet. On Lap 21, Dillon was behind a 12th-place running Chase Elliott in the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet. And on Lap 27, Dillon reported he was still running so slow that he couldn’t even tell his team if he was having a handling issue. Three laps later, when the leader was clocked at 58.718 seconds (163.085mph), Dillon joked with his spotter, saying, “Hang in there, race fans, here in about 45 minutes, we'll start doing the dumb shit, so take a bathroom break and get you a little snack.”
Finally, by Lap 32, the RFK Racing trio of Brad Keselowski, Ryan Preece, and Buescher linked up a three-car draft and pulled away from the field. By Lap 34, they were already ten full seconds of 4th-place running Gaulding. Meanwhile, Dillon remained among the now-trailing pack, this time behind 17th-place running Austin Cindric in the #2 Menards / Knauf Ford. This was on Lap 35, the same lap that Spire Motorsports teammates Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell tried to form up a three-car draft to their inside, joined by both Ty Gibbs and also Mears. But this pack couldn’t break away, and was soon caught by the field on Lap 40. By then, Dillon was drafting his brother Austin Dillon in the #3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet, and idly wondered how much longer it would take for the RFK trio to lap them. “People are panicking,” said someone on Dillon’s channel on Lap 45. Then on Lap 49, Dillon was told, “I don’t want to hit the panic button, but we need to move up a little bit if we can only because we are a lap down.” Dillon then made a move to the low lane, trying to position himself closer to the front of the pack, and soon locked onto the bumper of Daniel Suarez’ #7 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet.
But by now, drivers in their pack were starting to pit. On Lap 50, Cody Ware fell to 39th and lost a lap in his #51 Rocket Doctor Chevrolet, which had qualified a sterling 11th on the grid. Dillon pitted the next time by, losing a second lap as he did, which kept him in last place. This led to the first of a series of pit road speeding penalties. Two of the drivers penalized were Joey Gase, whose camouflage decorated #44 Chevrolet picked up day-of sponsorship that included H2 Hats and WealthsCorz.com, and the #62 of Mears. Mears was caught speeding on Lap 49, then again when he served the penalty on Lap 53, just as Gase had on Laps 50 and 52. Gase lost a second lap on Lap 54, dropping him to last behind Dillon, and Mears dropped to 39th on Lap 56, splitting 38th-place Dillon from 40th-place Gase.
By Lap 57, Christopher Bell had taken the lead in his #20 DeWalt Toyota, which now led another group of cars to pit road. But just before entry, Bell locked-up the rear wheels and spun to the left, where he slammed the inside wall with the right-front and right-rear of his car. The green flag stayed out, and Bell limped to his pit stall for quick repairs and rejoined the race in 32nd. But by Lap 60, smoke was trailing from his right-front fender. The next time by, Bell cut down a right-front tire entering Turn 3, forcing him to pit road for a second time. “Cut away whatever you’ve gotta fucking cut away,” yelled the crew as they set to work with at least two saws-alls. He was still in the pits on Lap 63, when he fell a third lap down and took the last spot from Gase. Bell returned to the track, only to incur a penalty for too many crew members over the wall. He served the pass-through on Lap 65, then cut down another right-front on Lap 66 in Turns 3 and 4, forcing him back into the pits on Lap 67. The crew appeared to be done on Lap 70, but something still wasn’t right, so they called for their tools and continued working. Seconds later, Bell was finally on track, and by Lap 72 was showing eight laps down in last place.
As Bell continued down the track, Zane Smith cut down the right-rear tire on his #38 Patriot Mobile Ford. Smith, too, didn’t bring out the caution as he pitted for fresh tires, and he returned to the track in 36th as the first driver two laps down. As the RFK cars remained up front by open track, they lapped Bell off Turn 4 on Lap 88, putting Bell a ninth lap down. The rest of the pack, led by eventual race winner Kyle Larson, didn’t catch and pass Bell for another eight laps. When Stage 1 finally ended on Lap 96, Bell was still in last place, nine laps down, with 39th-place Gase showing four down.
Under caution, Bell received further repairs to the right-front, but said his steering felt no better. He also pointed out his hood was coming loose. The crew told him he needed to drop to the tail end of the field “or we’ll be in trouble,” and so checked-up behind Mears entering Turn 3. He then pitted again for more bear-bond on the right-front as others topped-off on fuel. For the Lap 104 restart, Bell came back up to speed behind the pack, and on Lap 107 was running behind 27th-place Josh Berry, whose #21 Wurth Ford was the last car on the lead lap at the time, 3.205 seconds back of the lead. By Lap 112, Bell was on his own again, and tried to coordinate with Live Fast Motorsports to have the lapped Daniel Dye fall back to draft him in the #78 Champion Containers Chevrolet. Dye’s team turned Bell down, saying he was scheduled to pit in the next couple laps. And so, on Lap 122, just past the stripe, Bell held the inside lane as he lost a tenth lap to the field.
On Lap 133, the first multi-car pileup exploded into Turn 3 after Penske Racing teammates Joey Logano in the #22 Shell / Pennzoil Ford tangled with Ryan Blaney’s #12 Advance Auto Parts Ford, which was trying a move to Logano’s outside. Behind Blaney, Bubba Wallace’s #23 Kroger Health Toyota stacked-up with Chase Elliott’s #9 behind, and all three lost control. Blaney hooked to the left, slamming into the right-rear of Daniel Suarez’ #7 and collecting Tyler Reddick’s #45 Chumba Casino Toyota before it bounced off Noah Gragson’s #4. The wreck collected twelve cars in total, including Gaulding, who sped through the pileup and spun up the banking in Turn 3. Bell, who was running well back of the pack, was able to slow in time to drive through, but did not receive any of his ten laps back.
Left stranded on the apron were Blaney’s #12, plus Tyler Reddick’s #45 with heavy nose damage, and Chase Elliott’s #9, which appeared to only have flat tires. All three were hooked to separate tow trucks with Reddick’s pulling behind the wall short of pit entry. Elliott’s tow truck pulled past Blaney’s on the apron, then went behind the wall using an entrance on pit road, followed by Blaney’s. At the time, Elliott was classified the lowest-ranked of the three in 33rd with Reddick in 32nd and Blaney in 31st. Gragson, who was already lapped at the time of the wreck, held the 36th spot, while John Hunter Nemechek came to pit road with damage on his #42 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota, now holding 35th.
It was during this caution that Mears came down pit road, and soon had his hood up for a reported fuel pump issue. Mears had returned to the track after a stop, but then stalled on the apron of Turn 1, requiring a push. By Lap 138, Mears had fallen to the 39th spot with Nemechek now in 38th, Elliott 37th, Reddick in 36th, and Blaney in 35th. On Lap 139, his crew pushed him down pit road and into the garage. Because of the stall and its occurrence around the time of the accident, Mears was now on the same lap as the drivers collected in the crash, each listed with 131 laps completed. Bell continued to log laps, and vaulted to 35th on Lap 143, dropping Mears to last place, Nemechek to 39th, Elliott to 38th, Reddick to 37th, and Blaney to 36th. “It’s hard to swallow – I know we had a fast car,” said Mears. “Can’t buy no luck,” said his team. Mears climbed from the car, which was then pushed to the team’s hauler in the infield.
At the time, USA’s leaderboard incorrectly showed Blaney in last place with Mears in 38th, but NASCAR’s scoring properly showed Mears in last with Blaney in 36th. On Lap 174, Elliott returned to the track 41 laps down, and climbed from 38th to 36th by the checkered flag. He’d completed 16 more laps after the accident. Even closer to the finish came Reddick, who returned to run another six laps for a total of 137, just enough to move from 38th to 37th. This kept Nemechek in 39th, but dropped Blaney to 38th.
Hill nearly pulls off win while Custer and Gilliland lead underdog pack
Hard hits and a dramatic retaking of the lead by Kyle Larson signaled the final laps of Sunday’s race, but there were a few strong runs from some surprising drivers. Cole Custer finished a strong 5th, marking his first top-five finish of the season and only the fifth of his career, his first since he also took 5th in this race last season. Todd Gilliland in the #34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford battled for the lead in the final stages before he took home 7th, marking his first top-ten run since North Wilkesboro in July, and his third of the 2026 campaign. Coming off the final corner, Austin Hill appeared to have a massive run on race leader Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. when his #33 United Rentals Chevrolet ran out of gas, dropping him to 14th, one spot ahead of Ty Dillon, who overcame his first-lap penalty to take 15th. Joey Gase and Gray Gaulding also benefitted from late-race attrition to come home 21st and 23rd, respectively, with Daniel Dye in 25th.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #62 in a Cup race at Talladega.
*Mears is the first Cup driver listed out with “mechanical” issues since July 12, 2026, when B.J. McLeod’s #78 Chevrolet was listed out after 105 laps, marking the first time that listed reason out resulted in a last-place finish since 1951.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #62-Casey Mears / 131 laps / mechanical
39) #42-John Hunter Nemechek / 131 laps / crash
38) #12-Ryan Blaney / 131 laps / crash
37) #45-Tyler Reddick / 137 laps / running
36) #9-Chase Elliott / 147 laps / running
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Trackhouse Racing (6)
2nd) Front Row Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing (4)
3rd) 23XI Racing, Garage 66, Kaulig Racing, Live Fast Motorsports, RFK Racing (2)
4th) Beard Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Rick Ware Racing, Spire Motorsports, Wood Brothers Racing (1)
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (18)
2nd) Ford (9)
3rd) Toyota (5)
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
