Fresh From Florida Returns to Home State on No. 98 Ford

Casey Mears Fills in For Injured Aric Almirola with Biagi DenBeste Racing

Weekend Statistics and Notes

The No. 98 Fresh Form Florida Ford team looks to return to Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway with Casey Mears behind the wheel. Mears will once again fill in for the injured Aric Almirola in Saturday’s XFINITY race after subbing at Pocono Raceway. As defending winners of the Daytona Firecracker 250, Biagi DenBeste Racing and Fresh From Florida are looking to repeat their 2016 victory. Fresh From Florida will return to its home state for the second time this year to promote locally grown produce and seafood.

Mears has experience at the 2.5-mile track with 25 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts. He also has four starts in the XFINITY Series with two of those races resulting in a Top 10. Mears will look to score his first superspeedway win during the July 4th weekend.

Weekend Chatter

“I’m excited to be back behind the wheel with Fresh From Florida and Biagi DenBeste Racing this weekend in Daytona,” Mears said. “I know they won this race last year, as well as Talladega in May, with Aric Almirola, so I’m excited to be getting in a competitive car. We’re looking to have a strong run and put the #98 Fresh From Florida Ford Mustang at the front of the field. Our thoughts continue to be with Aric as heals up and we’re looking forward to having back in the car.”

About Richard Petty Motorsports
A performance and marketing driven company, Richard Petty Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and successful business entrepreneur Andrew Murstein, is one of the most recognized brands in all of motorsports. With a history of over 200 wins and business partnerships with national and global leaders, today the race operation fields one team in competition in the NASCAR premier series with driver Aric Almirola. Almirola will return to the iconic No. 43 Ford with partners Smithfield Foods, STP, United States Air Force and Fresh From Florida. The team is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C.