Clint Mears

Clint Mears
Clint Mears
Nationality	American
Born	January 12, 1973 (age 51); Bakersfield, California
Related to	Casey Mears ; Rick Mears ; Roger Mears
Indy Lights career
Starts	19
Championships	0
Wins	2
Podiums	2
Poles	3
Best finish	8th in 1997
Previous series
1997–1998; 1996; 1994–1995	Indy Lights ; NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ; Toyota Atlantic
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
	0 races run over 1 year
Best finish	140th (1996)
	Statistics current as of October 30, 2017.

Last updated August 15, 2024

Clint Mears (born January 12, 1973) is an American racing driver from Bakersfield, California. Clint is the son of Indy 500 champion Rick Mears and cousin of NASCAR driver Casey Mears.^[1] He has retired from automobile racing but currently competes in motocross events.

Career

Clint competed in the Toyota Atlantic championship part-time in 1994 and full-time in 1995.^[2] In 1995 he finished 9th in the championship with a best finish of fifth in Toronto. In 1996 he was out of professional racing except for a failed attempt to make his NASCAR debut in a Craftsman Truck Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway where he failed to qualify. In 1997 he moved to the Indy Lights series where he raced full-time as a teammate to his cousin;^[3] he finished eighth in points, scoring victories at the Milwaukee Mile, the same track as his father's first IndyCar win,^[3] and at California Speedway.^[4]^[5] Mears returned to the series in 1998 but missed some races and in the races he did compete in only managed a best finish of eighth. This was the end of his professional racing career; he became a driving instructor at Irwindale Speedway, competing in a NASCAR Winston West Series event there;^[5] he intended to return to the Craftsman Truck Series during 2000 or 2001 with Core Motorsports,^[5]^[6] but a ride did not materialise.

Clint also dabbled in off-road racing and motocross. He returned to amateur motocross in 2012 at the age of 39 after a lengthy absence.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

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

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck 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	21	22	23	24	NCTC	Pts
1996	Kim Spruell Racing	82		HOM	PHO	POR	EVG	TUS	CNS	HPT	BRI	NZH	MLW	LVL	I70	IRP	FLM	GLN	NSV	RCH	NHA	MAR	NWS DNQ	SON	MMR	PHO	LVS	140	13

American open-wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Indy Lights

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Rank	Points
1997	Team Mears	MIA 12	LBH 18	NAZ 7	SAV 18	STL 11	MIL 1*	DET 18	POR DNS	TOR 13	TRO 12	VAN 14	LS DNS	FON 1		8th	53
1998	Team Mears	MIA DNS	LBH	NAZ 18	STL 17	MIL 19	DET 17	POR	CLE 16	TOR	MIS 8	TRO	VAN	LS 10	FON 22	24th	8

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References

↑ Mears Gang Archived 2017-10-30 at the Wayback Machine , CaseyMears.com, Retrieved 2017-10-29
↑ Fox, John Jay (1995-04-18). "Mears' Heir Lacking Only The Seat Time". The Morning Call . Allentown, PA. Archived from the original on 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
1 2 Glick, Shav (1997-09-26). "No Matter the Age, They're Still Doing It With Mears". Los Angeles Times . Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
↑ Glick, Shav (1997-09-28). "Mears Wins Battle of Indy Lights". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
1 2 3 Glick, Shav (2000-07-21). "Though Very Consistent, This Mears Is Ready to Win". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
↑ "IRL: Indy 500: Casey Mears passes test, ready to add to family legacy at Speedway". Motorsport.com. 2000-04-13. Archived from the original on 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2017-10-31.

External links

Clint Mears on X
Clint Mears driver statistics at Racing-Reference
Clint Mears career summary at DriverDB.com

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[1] Mears Gang Archived 2017-10-30 at the Wayback Machine , CaseyMears.com, Retrieved 2017-10-29

[2] Fox, John Jay (1995-04-18). "Mears' Heir Lacking Only The Seat Time". The Morning Call . Allentown, PA. Archived from the original on 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2017-10-31.

[glick2-3] 1 2 Glick, Shav (1997-09-26). "No Matter the Age, They're Still Doing It With Mears". Los Angeles Times . Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2017-10-31.

[glick3-4] Glick, Shav (1997-09-28). "Mears Wins Battle of Indy Lights". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2017-10-31.

[glick1-5] 1 2 3 Glick, Shav (2000-07-21). "Though Very Consistent, This Mears Is Ready to Win". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2017-10-31.

[6] "IRL: Indy 500: Casey Mears passes test, ready to add to family legacy at Speedway". Motorsport.com. 2000-04-13. Archived from the original on 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2017-10-31.

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