MENARDS RACING NOTES – WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
No. 15 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet Impala – Nextel Cup
NOTES OF INTEREST ON THE WATKINS GLEN CUP CAR
Nextel Cup Primary Car: Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chassis #25C/ Back up Car #29C
Interesting Cup Fact: In three NASCAR Nextel Cup starts, Paul Menard has completed every one of the race run 272 laps at Watkins Glen International. This Sunday’s Centurion Boats at The Glen will give Menard his NASCAR Nextel Cup start at the famed New York state road course.
OVERALL NOTES OF INTEREST
Watkins Glen Memories
Menard made his first NASCAR Nextel Cup start here in 2003, while racing for Andy Petree Racing. While Menard qualified 43rd for the event, he finished a solid 29th place and has been a fan of the 2.450-mile road course in upstate New York.
Menard Ready for Road Course Success
Menard has plenty to brag about when it comes to road racing. During his rookie ARCA ReMax Challenge Series in 2001, he earned a pole and victory at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. In 2003, he made his Nextel Cup debut on a road course. In 2005, he started and finished in the top-10 in the Busch race at Watkins Glen. In 2006, he scored his first NASCAR road course top-five finish with a fifth place run at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.
Raybestos Rookie Power
Currently, Menard stands third in overall Raybestos Rookie ratings. He has 151 points; 60 points behind Juan Pablo Montoya who leads the battle with 211 points. Menard has won Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors in three events this season, including Michigan, Richmond and Phoenix.
Standings Status
Paul Menard is currently 38th in Driver’s Points, while the No. 15 team dropped one position to 31st place in Owner’s Standings following last weeks race at Pocono Raceway. The team is has a 277 point cushion on the top-35. Menard’s prowess on a road course should aid his Dale Earnhardt Inc. backed team in its quest towards the top-20 in owner’s standings.
QUOTES ON WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
Paul Menard on the Centurion Boats at The Glen: I’ve got a lot of experience at Watkins Glen and it’s all been pretty positive. I’m not sure why some guys take to road course and others do not. I’ve just been lucky to have so many opportunities to race on a road course and for the most part my results have been solid. Obviously, our goals are the same as they were a few weeks ago when we knew we were locked in and could focus more on race runs; I want to leave Watkins Glen with a top-20 finish. But a top-10 would be even better.
Nextel Cup Crew Chief Dave Charpentier on the Centurion Boats at The Glen: We’ve had a couple of really solid road course tests with this car and I think Paul is really excited about this weekend. This car that we tested at Kershaw in South Carolina is really fast and I think we left there feeling like we were ahead of the game and ready for Watkins Glen.
