Roger Mears
| Roger Mears | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality |  American | ||||||
| Born | April 24, 1947 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) | ||||||
| |||||||
| 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) | ||||||
| |||||||
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| 1980 | Hodgdon Racing | McLaren M24 | Cosworth DFX V8t | ONT 9 |
24th | 272 | |||||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||
| 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 | |||
| 1984 | Caliva Racing | March 84C | Cosworth DFX V8t | LBH DNQ |
PHX 26 |
NC | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | MMR 29 |
PHO | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
- ^ "Where Are They Now?: Roger Mears". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 2012. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Pickups take to racetrack". Standard-Speaker. Hazelton, PA. May 27, 1995. p. 44. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
- ^ "Dads Behind Sons' Wheels". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. June 15, 2003. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
- ^ "Roger Mears".
- ^ "Interview with retired IndyCar & Offroad Driver Roger Mears". YouTube. 8 June 2018.
External links
- Roger Mears driver statistics at Racing-Reference