Casey Mears won his first Nextel Cup race. Previously, his only win was a Busch win at Chicagoland last year. To finally win in his sport’s top series had to be the pinnacle of his young life so far. J.J. Yeley posted his best finish ever in NASCAR. Did you see that? Ever. Kyle Petty, a long ago winner of the then-World 600, nabbed his first top five (and let’s be honest, it is a top three) in ten years. T-E-N. As SportsGrumblings’ own Mark Allen Haverty said in our podcast, some of the current drivers didn’t even have their license to drive street cars the last time that happened.

It would be foolish to discount the attention and no doubt financial windfall everyone stands to make when names like Gordon (of the Jeff variety), Stewart and Earnhardt pull into Victory Lane. But when you have men like Mears, Yeley and Petty in your top three, the attention becomes a lot more interesting. While many of the top cars were taken out in a war of attrition, the top three finishers this week brought some much-needed variety into the Cup series.

Let’s start with Kyle. He is a good driver, a solid driver, but he has never been championship material. What he is is a keen analyst, a shrewd and savvy businessman and truly a man of the people. While he has won races in the past, that time has long since come and gone. Kyle has transformed himself into a marketing powerhouse while still retaining and exuding a warmhearted persona. He is likely the only – and I mean only – man in NASCAR who can mention his sponsor and pet project over and over again and never be begrudged one second of exposure.

This third place finish was, in Kyle’s own words on Tony Stewart Live, akin to a win for Petty Enterprises. I read a quote from Matt Yocum of FOX Sports/SPEED in which Yocum said (I’m paraphrasing here), “I think there’s a lot of people in the stands who wished the first two cars would have run out of fuel.”

Can you imagine the sheer pandemonium at Lowe’s Motor Speedway if the No. 45 had won the race? The place would have gone underground. Never could so many people come together in support for one driver and be genuinely happy with the outcome. The stands might have collapsed from all the jumping up and down and general goodwill.

For those of you watching the post race interview, Pattie Petty came rushing over to kiss Kyle and if you are softhearted at all, you thought that was very touching. I admit I came close to shedding a tear. Later, when I read that Kyle said he couldn’t have been any happier for Mears than if Mears’ name had been Adam Petty, I was reminded of the sheer amount of class and dignity Kyle Petty possesses. More people should model themselves after Kyle. Outsiders who know nothing of NASCAR would have done well to have their first introduction be a win by KP.

In second place we find young, exuberant J.J. Yeley. Despite loads of negative media coverage this week (mostly people speculating about his future with Joe Gibbs Racing when the man posts his best finish ever) he has remained upbeat and positive about his racing career.

I think a lot of people like J.J. Yeley. He is articulate, funny and can talk trash to and about Tony Stewart without risking severe bodily injury. In interviews this week, he has said some very mature things about his future. He told media outlets that they can print whatever they want about him, but he isn’t concerned about finding a ride if he does get canned and not only that, if he can’t, he knows he can go back to open wheel. He is a racer. It is all he knows how to do.

I don’t think most people realize that J.J. isn’t the kid he is made out to be. He’s around 30, has a young daughter and a wife. He has to work hard or he can’t put food on the table or the many tables at JGR that depend on him. It is true that the majority of his finishes have been poor showings. The man probably has to have his wife make extra cookies for the fab shop guys at Christmas. I don’t think quite as much attention has been lavished on the 18 team as has been lavished over the No. 11.

That’s not to say Denny Hamlin has the monopoly on the JGR brass’s attention, but when Hamlin complained about pit stop miscues, he got his pit crew reorganized. I haven’t seen that sort of wholesale revamping for J.J. Perhaps if the love was spread a little more equal opportunity, we could see even more solid finishes from the Interstate Batteries Chevrolet. Remember, J.J. is in 15^th place in driver points. Might I take a moment here to mention that 15^th place is ahead of past champion Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle and far, far ahead of last year’s most prolific winner, Kasey Kahne.

Look for more solid finishes from the mean green machine. I wouldn’t say it is out of the woods yet, but perhaps the 18 will rise again.

Finally, we look to a familiar name in Victory Lane, Mears. The only difference is that this Victory Lane is a few states away from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Casey Mears finally was able to claim a win and be truly grateful for it on Sunday night. He had to pause to take in all that Victory Lane had to offer. With confetti glued to his face, he finally proved himself.

Much ado has been made about Casey’s rather uninspiring season to date. Of course, this always brings up rumors. The No. 25 car is cursed by the spirit of Tim Richmond. The turnover is too high for any combination of crew and driver to make it successful. The team is glorified research and development for the rest of Hendrick Motorsports.

Pshaw, I say. I urge you to go to NASCAR.com and read this article by David Caraviello. It gives a brief but telling history of the No. 25, correctly labeling it “the family car.” Read it to see how much blood, sweat and tears have been invested in its success since the larger-than-life Richmond piloted the car. It may change your mind if you thought it was a boil on the face of HMS.

Ever since Casey was lured to stock cars from the increasingly fragmented Indycar circuit, he has been dogged by questions that essentially wanted to know when he was going to be as good as his uncle Rick or even as good as his less-celebrated but equally talented father Roger.

Even when he won the 600 he was asked how it felt to be a Mears in Victory Lane on Memorial Day Sunday. Well, I’d say it felt pretty darn good, whether his name was Mears or Sears or anything in between. Casey is his own man, and it is my fervent hope that this win will be a springboard to continued successes for the 25 team and its driver. Now that Casey’s bridesmaid status is officially gone, statistics show that it tends to be easier to get that second, third, fourth and even fifth win. Perhaps he will continue to show the naysayers wrong.

Until next week when we’ve escaped the concrete canyons of the Dover and said a sad goodbye to our friends at FOX Sports, rubbin’ is racin’.

Have a question or comment for Samantha? Send it to samanthamaynard@sportsgrumblings.com.