Report: Hendrick to drop Mears, bring in Martin

SONOMA, Calif.

Mark Martin will leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. after this season and replace Casey Mears at Hendrick Motorsports, according to an ESPN.com report citing unidentified sources.

Car owner Rick Hendrick would only say he's committed to Mears "right now" according to the Associated Press, although there were indications that Mears was informed last week he would not be back with the team.

"(I'm concentrating) on getting that car running better and working hard on that - anything else is speculation," Hendrick said Sunday at Infineon Raceway. "We're looking at everything right now. I'm not ready to make any announcements.... What's there to tell? We want to get it in the Chase and want to win races."

After finishing fifth, Mears referred questions about his future to the team.

Mears has struggled since he joined Hendrick Motorsports last season. He won last year's Coca-Cola 600 but has only 13 top-10 finishes in 52 starts with the team. He is 24th in the points.

Martin has some experience with Hendrick. He ran three Busch races for the team in 2007 and has run two Nationwide races this season with Jr. Motorsports, which has ties to Hendrick Motorsports.

Martin's departure would allow DEI to run Aric Almirola, 24, full-time next season. Martin and Almirola are sharing a ride this season. Almirola was making only his fourth Cup start Sunday - his first since late April.

Gordon's struggles

Despite finishing third, Jeff Gordon said his team is still not as strong as it needs to be. He's sixth in the points.

"I want to have the fastest car and it's been a little while since we've had that," he said. "We feel pretty blessed, to be honest with you, to be where we are in the points. I can't necessarily say it's been from being awfully fast."

Harvick's tumble

Kevin Harvick's late charge proved to be too much when he spun in the final laps while running in the top five. Harvick finished 30th and fell out of the top 12 in points.

Harvick's misfortunes allowed Matt Kenseth, who finished eighth, to climb into the top 12 in points for the first time since Bristol in March. Kenseth is 12th, two points ahead of Harvick.

Not pleased

Jimmie Johnson finished 15th but afterward was more concerned with an incident with Greg Biffle. Johnson spun after the contact; after the race, he talked to Biffle.

"I just wanted to make sure it wasn't intentional," Johnson said. "Racing for 15th and dive-bombing someone around the outside of turn 1 up into (turn) 2 isn't the smartest thing in my opinion. He thought it was a great idea."

Watch yourself

Before the race, NASCAR officials reminded drivers that they need to hold their proper position on the track during cautions. They didn't announce possible penalties.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. passed the pace car a few times while trying to save fuel late in last weekend's race at Michigan.

Pit stops

David Gilliland finished a career-best second. His previous best finish was fourth at Talladega in April 2007.... Road course specialist Ron Fellows placed 29th after he was collected in a late-race incident.... Save Mart has signed a five-year contract extension to continue sponsoring this race.