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Casey Mears and the No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's team finished 33rd in Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.

The No. 5 team continuously adjusted the handling of the Chevy throughout the 267-lap race, working hard to improve its position - to little avail.

Thursday's qualifying session was canceled due to heavy rain showers at the 1.5-mile speedway so the starting grid was set by the current owner standings. Mears lined up in the 25th position.

On Friday, in the opening laps of the first practice session, the CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet got loose in the first turn, sending Mears hard into the outside retaining wall. The Chevy suffered heavy damage to its right side, but not enough for the team to need the back-up car.

The CARQUEST/Kellogg's crew quickly fixed the Chevy and sent Mears back to the track for the final practice session Friday evening.

Still uncomfortable with the car's handling, the team worked diligently to figure out a better set up for Mears. After talking with their Hendrick Motorsports teammates, crew chief Alan Gustafson and engineer Chris Heroy made several adjustments that helped tighten the car's handling in trouble spots on the track.

Their adjustments made a noticeable difference when the race began Saturday evening, and the car no longer was loose. Normally that would suit Mears, who prefers a tighter-handling car, but the adjustments had made the Chevy too tight.

The first caution flag waved on lap 35, with Mears in 39th place. The team made extensive adjustments on pit road, including removing a left rear spring rubber. The crew performed quickly, picking up four positions on pit road. Mears restarted the race in 35th place.

During the next 15-lap green-flag run, Mears reported that the adjustments had not helped the Chevrolet's handling. When the team made another pit stop on lap 50, the crew added a right rear spring rubber to the Chevy and made a wedge adjustment before sending Mears back to the track in 36th place.

After one more pit stop for adjustments on lap 104, Mears reported that the Chevrolet's handling had improved greatly and was the best it had been throughout the weekend.

Despite being a lap down at the time, Mears' lap speeds also picked up. During the second half of the race, he was turning in lap times comparable to the leaders.

With few cautions during the race, the CARQUEST/Kellogg's team was unable to earn the "lucky dog" pass and remained a lap down. Mears finished 33rd. He remains 24th in the Sprint Cup driver standings

The Kellogg's/CARQUEST team next will next compete Sunday, July 27, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will air live on ESPN at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.