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SONOMA, Calif. — Mark Martin will leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. after this season and replace Casey Mears at Hendrick Motorsports, according to an ESPN.com report citing unidentified sources.

Car owner Rick Hendrick would only say he's committed to Mears "right now,'' according to NASCAR Scene and ESPN, although there were indications Mears was informed last week that he would not be back with the team.

Mears said he was concentrating "on getting that car running better and working hard on that — anything else is speculation," Hendrick told NASCAR Scene on Sunday at Infineon Raceway. "We're looking at everything right now. I'm not ready to make any announcements. ... What's there to tell? We want to get it in the Chase and want to win races."

After finishing fifth, Mears referred questions about his future to the team.

Mears has struggled since he joined Hendrick Motorsports last season. He won last year's Coca-Cola 600 but has had only 13 top-10 finishes in 52 starts with the team. Mears is 24th in points after Sunday's race.

Martin has some experience with Hendrick. Martin ran three Busch races for the team in 2007 and has run two Nationwide races this season with Jr. Motorsports, which has ties to Hendrick Motorsports to run in that series.

Martin's departure would allow DEI to run 24-year-old Aric Almirola full time next season. Martin and Almirola are sharing a ride this season. Almirola, the future of DEI, made only his fourth Cup start Sunday — and first since late April. The only other event he's raced in NASCAR's top series is one truck race.

With development drivers for other teams getting more race experience, Almirola has fallen behind despite numerous testing opportunities. Thus, the need to get him in a car full time.

STILL STRUGGLING: Despite finishing third, Jeff Gordon said his team is still not as strong as it needs to be.

"I want to have the fastest car, and it's been a little while since we've had that,'' said Gordon. "We feel pretty blessed to be honest with you to be where we are in the points. I can't necessarily say it's been from being awfully fast.''

Gordon is sixth in points.

FALLING DOWN: Kevin Harvick's late charge proved to be too much when he spun in the final laps while running in the top five. Harvick finished 30th and fell out of the top 12 in points.

Harvick's misfortunes allowed Matt Kenseth, who finished eighth, to climb into the top 12 in points for the first time since Bristol in March.

Kenseth is 12th in the season standings, two points ahead of Harvick.

NOT PLEASED: Jimmie Johnson finished 15th but was more concerned with an incident with Greg Biffle. Johnson spun after the contact. After the race, he talked to Biffle.

"I just wanted to make sure it wasn't intentional,'' Johnson said. "Racing for 15th and dive-bombing someone around the outside of Turn 1 up into 2 isn't the smartest thing in my opinion. He thought it was a great idea.''

WATCH YOURSELF: Before the race, NASCAR officials reminded drivers that they needed to hold their proper position on the track during cautions. They didn't announce possible penalties. The comment was made after Dale Earnhardt Jr. passed the pace car a few times while trying to save fuel late in last weekend's Michigan race.

PIT STOPS: David Gilliland finished a career-best second. His previous best finish was fourth at Talladega in April 2007. ... Ron Fellows was the top finishing road course specialist. He placed 29th after he was collected in a late-race incident. Save Mart has signed a five-year contract extension to continue sponsoring this race at Infineon Raceway.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com