BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Another of the Sprint Cup Series garage's worst-kept secrets will become official at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday when Casey Mears is announced as the fourth driver for Richard Childress Racing beginning next season.

Team owner Richard Childress, who has been tight-lipped about persistent rumors that Mears joining his team has long been a done deal, essentially confirmed it Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“

He's a racer. That's what I like about him. ... You know, there are a lot of guys who haven't won if you really look at it. I can tell you all that stuff [Saturday], if you want.

”

RICHARD CHILDRESS

Asked what he liked about Mears, Childress replied: "I think he's a good race driver; I think he's a solid race driver. I like his attitude. He's just got the right attitude when it comes to racing. He's a racer. That's what I like about him."

When asked in a follow-up question why then he thinks Mears has been unable to win more at the Cup level, Childress added: "You know, there are a lot of guys who haven't won if you really look at it. I can tell you all that stuff [Saturday], if you want."

Mears currently drives the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, and on Friday qualified fifth for Saturday night's Sharpie 500 at Bristol. But he has known for weeks that he would not be in the No. 5 next year, as Hendrick previously announced that the ride would go to Mark Martin in 2009.

Almost as soon as that announcement was made, rumors swirled that Mears would be Childress' choice to fill out his driver lineup as RCR makes the switch from three full-time Cup entries to four. Mears, whose only career Cup victory to date came last season in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, merely grinned when asked about his future following his qualifying run Friday, politely adding that he did not yet want to comment.

Told that Childress had "said some good things about him," Mears smiled and added only: "That's good to know. He's a real good guy."

Childress also addressed another hot topic regarding his operation when he confirmed that his grandson, Austin Dillon, would begin testing in Truck Series and Nationwide Series vehicles, starting this Monday.

"I think he's running a truck at Richmond on Monday, and then going to Iowa to drive a Nationwide car," Childress said. "We'll run him in some Nationwide cars. We'll just see how it goes from there. You know, he's never run a radial tire. So we'll try to run him a little and see how he does." (Continued)