Roger Mears

Roger Mears
Nationality	American
Born	(1947-04-24) April 24, 1947 (age 77) Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
Achievements	20 off-road world championships at Riverside Two HDRA/SCORE championships Four Baja 1000 class victories Five Pikes Peak International Hill Climb class victories
Champ Car career
Years active	1978–1984
Team(s)	Machinist Union Racing Team American Dream Racing
Best finish	9th (1982)
First race	1979 California 500 (Ontario)
Last race	1984 Dana Jimmy Bryan 150 (Phoenix)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
4 races run over 1 year
Best finish	46th (1995)
First race	1995 Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic (Phoenix)
Last race	1995 Spears Manufacturing 200 (Mesa Marin)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Statistics current as of May 18, 2013.

Roger Mears (born April 24, 1947 in Wichita, Kansas) is an American former racing driver. Best known for his career in off-road racing, he also drove in the USAC and CART series from 1978 to 1984. He competed in 31 races, including the Indianapolis 500 in 1982 and 1983.[1] He finished in the top ten 17 times, with three fourth-place finishes.

Following his IndyCar career, Mears returned to off-road racing.[2] Late in his career, he raced in four events during the 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series season,[3] racing for Hendrick Motorsports, including the inaugural series race at Phoenix. His best career finish, however, was a 16th at Mesa Marin.

Mears is the father of NASCAR driver Casey Mears,[4] and the older brother of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears.

Since his retirement from racing, Mears has been heavily involved in his son's career. He ran an Indy Lights team, with Casey as the driver, before working as a consultant with both Ganassi and Hendrick Motorsports.[5]

Mears is an atheist.[6] He played himself in the 1994 film Desert Steel.

Racing record

American open–wheel racing results

(key)

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Pos	Points
1978		PIR1	TRE1	MOS	MIL1 26	TEX	MIL2 22	OMS1 15	OMS2	TRE2	PIR2	51st	10

USAC

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Rank	Points
1978	Beith Racing	Eagle 72	Offenhauser L4t	PHX1	ONT1	TXS1	TRE1	INDY	MOS	MIL1	POC	MIS1	ATL	TXS2	MIL2	ONT2 6	MIS2	TRE2	SIL	BRH	PHX2 DNS	25th	400

CART

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Rank	Points	Ref
1979	Patrick Racing	Penske PC-6	Cosworth DFX V8t	PHX	ATL1	ATL2	INDY	TRE1	TRE2	MIS1	MIS2	WGL	TRE3	ONT 13	MIS3	ATL3	PHX2			NC	0	[7]
1980	Hodgdon Racing	McLaren M24	Cosworth DFX V8t	ONT 9																24th	272	[8]
	Grant King Racers	Kingfish 73	Chevrolet V8		INDY DNQ	MIL	POC	MDO 4	MIS	WGL 16	MIL 26	ONT2	MIS2	MEX	PHX
1982	Machinists Union Racing Team	Penske PC-9B	Cosworth DFX V8t	PHX 8		MIL 22	CLE 21													9th	103	[9]
		Penske PC-7			ATL 4			MIS 17	MIL2 14	POC 9	RIV 4	ROA 8	MIS2 8
		Penske PC-10												PHX2 7
1983	Machinists Union Racing Team	Penske PC-10	Cosworth DFX V8t	ATL 7	INDY 28	MIL 8	CLE 6	MIS DNQ	ROA 8	POC 16	RIV 9	MDO 12	MIS2 16	CEA 7	LS 6	PHX 16				12th	43	[10]
1984	Caliva Racing	March 84C	Cosworth DFX V8t	LBH DNQ	PHX 26															NC	0	[11]
	Machinists Union Racing Team	Penske PC-10				INDY DNQ	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE	MIS	ROA	POC	MDO	SAN	MIS2	PHX2	LS	CEA

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
1980	Kingfish 73	Chevrolet V8	DNQ		Grant King Racers
1981	Penske PC-7	Cosworth DFX V8t	DNQ		Agajanian
1982	Penske PC-9B	Cosworth DFX V8t	19	32	Machinists Union Racing Team
1983	Penske PC-10	Cosworth DFX V8t	8	28	Machinists Union Racing Team
1984	Penske PC-10	Cosworth DFX V8t	DNQ		Machinists Union Racing Team

NASCAR

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

SuperTruck Series

NASCAR SuperTruck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	NCTC	Pts	Ref
1995	Hendrick Motorsports	25	Chevy	PHO 21	TUS	SGS	MMR 16	POR	EVG	I70	LVL	BRI	MLW	CNS	HPT	IRP 24	FLM	RCH	MAR	NWS	SON			46th	382	[12]
		5																				MMR 29	PHO

References

1. "Where Are They Now?: Roger Mears". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 2012. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
2. Winderman, Ira (May 21, 1986). "Off The Beaten Track Roger Mears Is Carving His Niche In Off-road Racing". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, FL. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
3. "Pickups take to racetrack". Standard-Speaker. Hazelton, PA. May 27, 1995. p. 44. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
4. "Dads Behind Sons' Wheels". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. June 15, 2003. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
5. "Roger Mears".
6. "Interview with retired IndyCar & Offroad Driver Roger Mears". YouTube. 8 June 2018.
7. "Roger Mears – 1979 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
8. "Roger Mears – 1980 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
9. "Roger Mears – 1982 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
10. "Roger Mears – 1983 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
11. "Roger Mears – 1984 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
12. "Roger Mears – 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 30, 2024.

External links

• Roger Mears driver statistics at Racing-Reference