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Casey Mears and the Kellogg's/CARQUEST team continuously improved their grasp of the Impala SS throughout the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend at Michigan International Speedway.

From qualifying on Friday until race time on Sunday, the No. 5 Chevy handled like a completely different race car.

"Qualifying wasn't so great for us again this weekend," Mears said. "On Saturday, though, we really figured some things out that tightened the Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet up and allowed us to make some really good lap times. The improvement from the June race to this one is just incredible. I'm really proud of these guys."

Throughout Friday's practice session, Mears and the team combated an extremely loose-handling Chevrolet. In qualifying that afternoon, the handling improved, but not as much as the team would have liked. Mears secured the 29th starting position.

On Saturday, the team's hard work showed as the No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet had improved to 13th on the speed charts in both practice sessions.

When the green-flag waved on Sunday, Mears immediately charged through the field. In the opening 10 laps, Mears gained six positions to take the 23rd spot. He radioed to the Kellogg's/CARQUEST crew that the Chevy was loose on entry and exit of the turns, but slightly tight in the center. Seven laps later, he reported that the rear tires had lost all grip.

Mears moved into 21st just before the team's first pit stop on lap 23. With slight air pressure and wedge adjustment, plus four tires and fuel, Mears rejoined the field 19th. The adjustments weren't enough to combat the loose-handling issue, though and Mears was running 21st again by the team's second stop. The team adjusted the Chevy's track bar, which helped tighten the entry and exit, but also made the Chevy tighter in the center.

The Kellogg's/CARQUEST team continued to adjust the Chevy through two more pit stops, but wasn't able to tighten the Chevy enough to Mears' liking. Just prior to the halfway point, under caution, crew chief Alan Gustafson made the decision to lose a few positions on pit road so the team could insert a left rear spring rubber and hopefully improve the car's handling.

The adjustments worked, and Mears moved from 26th to inside the top 20. For the first 20 laps of the green-flag run, the Chevy was nearly perfect. On that 21st lap, however, the rear tires of the Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevy lost their grip, making the car extremely loose again.

After each pit stop, the Chevy was nearly perfect, but 15 to 20 laps into the run, the loose handling condition would creep back in. Mears fell one lap down to the leader on lap 146, when he was running in 23rd place.

In the final 50 laps of the race, Mears and the team continued to made adjustments and improve the handling of the Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevy. Mears advanced five positions to finish 18th, the first car one lap down.

Mears and the Kellogg's/CARQUEST team remain 24th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings.