MENARDS RACING NOTES – ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Car Notes
Busch Car:
Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chassis #30
Last Raced:
Homestead 2006 (Dale Earnhardt Jr. piloted chassis #30 in last year’s season finale – qualified 16th, finished 7th)
Fun Fact:
This is the same car Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove to Victory Lane at Michigan Int’l Speedway last August. Menard had this car with him at California in September but a practice crash sent Menard to his backup car for the race.
Atlanta Notes
Overview
Paul Menard will attempt double duty for the fourth time in 2007, piloting the No. 15 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet in both the NASCAR Nextel Cup Kobalt Tools 500 and the NASCAR Busch Series Nicorette 300.
Crew Chief Power
Menard is backed by two stellar crew chiefs – Tony Eury Sr. (NNCS) and Mike Greci (NBS), who have a combined 60 years of experience in NASCAR competition. Eury Sr. heads up Menard’s No. 15 Nextel Cup team, but also calls the NASCAR Busch Series races. Greci prepares the No. 15 NASCAR Busch Series entry for Menard, and acts as the team’s decision maker on race day.
DEI Busch Victory at Atlanta? Not Yet!
While Menard’s teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has one win, seven top fives, nine top 10s and one pole win in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series at AMS, he has yet to record a NASCAR Busch Series win at Atlanta. Further, Menard’s other DEI teammate, Martin Truex Jr., may have 13 wins in the NASCAR Busch Series but a win at Atlanta has eluded him, as well. Therefore the door is open for Paul Menard to record DEI’s first Busch Series win at the 1.54-mile quad-oval track.
Atlanta Quotes
Paul Menard Quote on the Nicorette 300:
“We were looking for balance with our Busch car last year. “It’s important to keep the car balanced from start to finish and that’s how you run up front and stay there until the end.”
Busch Crew Chief Mike Greci on the Nicorette 300:
“We’re taking what I consider to be one of the best cars in the Busch stable. I looked at Dan Stillman’s notes on the Busch car from last spring at Atlanta, and the car actually wasn’t top ten material off the truck. But then in practice and the early part of the race, they tried a whole bunch of everything at it and really seemed to hit on something. We should be a lot better from the start this time around.”
