While you might normally question the timing of the move, with Daytona looming large in just a few days (thank you, wee baby Jesus baby for the season finally starting), it wasn’t completed unexpected. Mears’ move to the #25 was likely to result in a new crew chief, which it ultimately did.

Lots of people are tabbing Mears as a Chase contender this year, so it’ll be interesting to see how quickly the team and crew chief can ramp up, as they won’t be given the leeway for disappointing results that other new teams normally might get.