CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Casey Mears was hired Wednesday to drive for Hendrick Motorsports, earning a seat with one of NASCAR's super-teams.

The move had been widely expected since last week, when Mears informed car owner Chip Ganassi he would not be coming back in 2007 on the same day Brian Vickers asked to be released from his Hendrick contract.

Mears and Vickers will finish this season with their current teams.

Before that, Mears had insisted he wanted to renew his deal with Ganassi. But when the No. 25 Chevrolet opened up, he quickly changed his mind. His new job will team him with four-time series champion Jeff Gordon, points leader Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch.

Mears is very close friends with Gordon and Johnson — he served in Johnson's wedding party two years ago — but has a season-long feud running with Busch. That didn't deter owner Rick Hendrick from snapping him up to a multiyear deal.

"Casey is a talented driver and a high-character person who is going to be a great fit with our organization," Hendrick said. "He has the ability to win races and ultimately contend for championships, so we're thrilled to welcome him to Hendrick Motorsports."

Hendrick did disclose terms of the deal, but said Mears would be with the team at least through 2009.

The 28-year old Mears is the nephew of four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Rick Mears and followed that path into open-wheel. But he eventually changed course and moved to NASCAR, where he spent one season in the Busch Series before Ganassi hired him to drive a Nextel Cup car in 2003.