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2005 Season Final Points Standing 22nd After First 26 Races 25th Earnings $4,481,787 Starts 36 Poles 0 Wins 0 Top 5 3 6-10 6 Laps Led 145 Lead Lap Finishes 15 Bonus Points 40 Races Led 8

2005 Performance Below is the ranking of the team on each type of track along with the driver's best finish. Track Type Ranking Flat Tracks 22nd Best Finish 6th, Indianapolis Intermediate Tracks 10th Best Finish 4th, Texas (2) Plate Tracks 35th Best Finish 14th, Talladega Road Courses 19th Best Finish 20th, Infineon Short Tracks 33rd Best Finish 17th, Martinsville

Mears will look to build on last year's late upswing, when he recorded four top 10 runs in the season's final seven races. It appeared Mears had the Homestead event in hand until a late caution for debris spoiled his run and left him with a fifth-place finish.

He has been close to his breakthrough win on a number of occasions in the last two years but has been bitten by untimely cautions and flat tires.

Donnie Wingo will continue to serve as the crew chief for the Texaco Havoline Dodge. Wingo is a strong pit boss and should be the guy who steers Mears to his first victory.

On the downside, the Ganassi organization lags far behind other outfits in technology and reliable equipment. Without cars that are competitive, it's hard to envision the teams having much success in 2006.

Mears, however, could be the exception. If his pairing with Wingo works, they may be able to overcome any other shortcomings within the organization and pick up a win. Texas and its intermediate brethren will present the Havoline team with its best shots at checkers. Otherwise, it may be a long year for all involved.

A slow start to the season gave way to a solid fourth-place run at Texas, but he would not sniff the top 10 again until the Chicago event in July.

Another stout run, at Indianapolis, would be the last top 10 run until the Dover event in the Chase. His 10th-place finish was followed two weeks later by two more top 10s, both coming on intermediate tracks.

The roller coaster continued until the final race of the season at Homestead, where Mears was leading late when a caution for a phantom piece of debris relegated him to a disappointing fifth-place run.

• The Good: The Target team had the right setup for Homestead. Mears led 75 laps before a late caution wiped out his lead and knocked him back to fifth.

• The Bad: Mears was involved in yet another Big One at Talladega. Until that point, he had run with the leaders and appeared to be in line for a good finish.

• The Ugly: For the second year in a row, Mears was involved in an early crash at Bristol. On lap 20 he was collected by the spinning cars of Kyle Busch and Joe Nemechek. Mears' average finish was 27.8 on the short tracks in '05.