Mears tells Ganassi: I won't be back in 07.

Casey Mears will not be returning to drive Chip Ganassi Racing's #42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge in 2007 with the word at the Pocono Raceway on Sunday linking him to Brian Vickers' old seat at Hendrick Motorsport.

The 2006 Daytona 500 runner-up is in his fourth full-time Cup season with Ganassi after moving away from his open wheel roots but after three years in the #41 Target entry and half a season with the #42 Texaco/Havoline squad Mears announced before Sunday's Pocono 500 that he would be looking for a new ride in 2007.

Casey Mears will not be returning to drive Chip Ganassi Racing's #42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge in 2007 with the word at the Pocono Raceway on Sunday linking him to Brian Vickers' old seat at Hendrick Motorsport.

The 2006 Daytona 500 runner-up is in his fourth full-time Cup season with Ganassi after moving away from his open wheel roots but after three years in the #41 Target entry and half a season with the #42 Texaco/Havoline squad Mears announced before Sunday's Pocono 500 that he would be looking for a new ride in 2007.

Three straight top ten finishes signalled the most impressive start to a season ever for Mears but since coming ninth in Las Vegas the best finish Mears could muster was a 14th place effort at the Texas Motor Speedway. Things reached a low ebb at Pocono on Sunday when Scott Riggs tapped Mears into a spin on lap two, ending his day in 43rd position.

Still a career high 15th in the Nextel Cup standings, Mears' name has already been linked with a number of teams, including Robert Yates Racing and the new Red Bull Racing team. However the word in the Pocono garage area was that Mears was heading for Hendrick Motorsports to replace the outgoing Brian Vickers.

Since joining the Nextel Cup tour at the start of 2003 Mears has scored five top five finishes with his Daytona 500 result ranking as his best thus far. However he has never finished higher than 22nd in the points table.

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