Biography
Paul Menard begins his sixth year of full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition in 2012 when he returns to pilot the No. 27 Menards Chevrolet Impala for Richard Childress Racing. He will also compete in a part-time schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driving the No. 33 Menards/Rheem entry for RCR.
Menard’s racing career began to take shape at just eight years of age when he won the Briggs Junior Class Championship in his hometown of Eau Claire, Wis. He later won the Briggs Medium Class Championship before working his way up the proverbial racing steps. Menard began ice racing when he was 15 years old and went on to win 10 International Ice Racing Association (IIRA) events in his career.Menard made his foray into NASCAR competition in 2003 and has since proved to be a rising star. The Wisconsin driver posted his first Sprint Cup Series top-10 finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the spring of 2006. Still a full time NASCAR Nationwide Series driver, Menard continued to show strength by earning great finishes including his first Nationwide Series victory at The Milwaukee (Wis.) Mile in June 2006. Overall, Menard earned one win, 10 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes, and a sixth-place finish in the 2006 driver championship point standings.
The 2007 season faced several significant challenges for the rookie driver in NASCAR’s elite division. Not only was Menard required to qualify on speed for the first 19 races of the season, but with as many as 55 cars entering each event, qualifying was as notable as winning that year. In addition, many consider the competition among the rookie class to have been at an all-time high in 2007 and Menard was awarded Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors at four events throughout the season.
In 2008, Menard posted his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole at the historic Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and also recorded a second-place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
The end of the 2008 season brought many changes as Menard made a major decision to join Yates Racing. Paired with teammate Bobby Labonte at Yates in 2009, Menard and his No. 98 Menards team posted seven top-20 finishes and finished 31st in the driver championship point standings. In 2010, Yates Racing merged with Richard Petty Motorsports and Menard joined teammates Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and AJ Allmendinger. Behind the wheel of the No. 98 Menards Ford, Menard put together a solid season in Sprint Cup Series competition with one top-five and six top-10 finishes. The Eau Claire, Wis., native finished 23rd in the final driver championship point standings.
Menard also took the opportunity in 2010 to return to full-time Nationwide Series competition. He rounded out the season in the series with four top-five and 19 top-10 results placing him a solid fifth in the final point standings, another career best for the driver.
In 2011, the Wisconsin native rejoined the Chevrolet racing family when he made the move to Richard Childress Racing. Menard recorded his career-best finish of 17th in the driver championship point standings during the 2011 Sprint Cup Series campaign on the merit of his first NSCS win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Brickyard 400 and career-high numbers that included four top-five and eight top-10 finishes and 82 laps led. Menard competed in a partial Nationwide Series schedule for Kevin Harvick Inc. sharing driving duties with team co-owner Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Austin Dillon, Scott Speed and Max Papis in the No. 33 Menards/Rheem Chevrolet. He collected four top-five and seven top-10 finishes in only seven starts and earned two pole awards.
Off the track, Menard enjoys riding dirt bikes, go-karting, wakeboarding, and playing video games. The 30-year-old driver resides in Charlotte, N.C.
Racing Statistics
Current Cup Standing:
- Starts:
- 0
- Wins:
- 0
- Top 5:
- 0
- Top 10:
- 0
- Top 20:
- 0
- Standing:
Current NNS Standing:
- Starts:
- 0
- Wins:
- 0
- Top 5:
- 0
- Top 10:
- 0
- Top 20:
- 0
- Standing:
- N/A
Racing Results
- November
-
20 - Homestead Cup
(Started 23rd, Finished 16th)
19- Homestead NNS
- Clint Bowyer
(Started 6th, Finished 4th)
13 - Phoenix Cup
(Started 11th, Finished 9th)
12- Phoenix NNS
- Clint Bowyer
(Started 4th, Finished 7th)
6 - Texas Cup
(Started 4th, Finished 15th)
5- Texas NNS
- Clint Bowyer
(Started 5th, Finished 4th) - October
-
30 - Martinsville Cup
(Started 21st, Finished 24th)
23 - Talladega Cup
(Started 7th, Finished 12th)
15 - Charlotte Cup
(Started 7th, Finished 17th)
14 - Charlotte NNS
- Paul Menard
(Started 1st, Finished 8th)
9 - Kansas Cup
(Started 6th, Finished 12th)
8 - Kansas NNS
- Paul Menard
(Started 4th, Finished 4th)
2 - Dover Cup
(Started 3rd, Finished 16th)
1 - Dover NNS
- Clint Bowyer
(Started 4th, Finished 3rd) - September
-
25 - Loudon Cup
(Started 14th, Finished 20th)
19 - Chicago Cup
(Started 2nd, Finished 20th)
17 - Chicago NNS
- Paul Menard
(Started 3rd, Finished 9th)
10 - Richmond Cup
(Started 15th, Finished 34th)
9 - Richmond NNS
- Kevin Harvick
(Started 13th, Finished 20th)
6 - Atlanta Cup
(Started 22nd, Finished 18th)
3 - Atlanta NNS
- Kevin Harvick
(Started 8th, Finished 4th) - August
-
27 - Bristol Cup
(Started 7th, Finished 30th)
26 - Bristol NNS
- Clint Bowyer
(Started 9th, Finished 3rd)
21 - Michigan Cup
(Started 11th, Finished 26th)
20 - Montreal NNS
- Scott Speed
(Started 4th, Finished 6th)
15 - Watkins Glen Cup
(Started 32nd, Finished 32nd)
13 - Watkins Glen NNS
- Paul Menard
(Started 7th, Finished 6th)
7 - Pocono Cup
(Started 7th, Finished 10th)
6 - Iowa NNS
- David Mayhew
(Started 13th, Finished 10th) - July
-
31 - Indianapolis Cup
(Started 15th, Finished 1st)
30 - Lucas Oil NNS
- Austin Dillon
(Started 12th, Finished 14th)
23 - Nashville NNS
- Austin Dillon
(Started 4th, Finished 3rd)
17 - Loudon Cup
(Started 9th, Finished 24th)
16 - Loudon NNS
- Kevin Harvick
(Started 2nd, Finished 2nd)
9 - Kentucky Cup
(Started 10th, Finished 24th)
8 - Kentucky NNS
- Kevin Harvick
(Started 6th, Finished 2nd)
2 - Daytona Cup
(Started 10th, Finished 8th)
1 - Daytona NNS
- Clint Bowyer
(Started 4th, Finished 34th) - June
-
26 - Sonoma Cup
(Started 3rd, Finished 17th)
25 - Road America NNS
- Max Papis
(Started 2nd, Finished 23rd)
19 - Michigan Cup
(Started 9th, Finished 4th)
18 - Michigan NNS
- Paul Menard
(Started 1st, Finished 4th)
12 - Pocono Cup
(Started 2nd, Finished 14th)
5 - Kansas Cup
(Started 9th, Finished 19th)
4 - Chicago NNS
- Kevin Harvick
(Started 18th, Finished 13th) - May
-
29 - Charlotte Cup
(Started 16th, Finished 29th)
28 - Charlotte NNS
- Kevin Harvick
(Started 2nd, Finished 16th)
22 - Iowa NNS
- Austin Dillon
(Started 3rd, Finished 10th)
21 - Charlotte Showdown Cup
(Started 3rd, Finished 11th)
15 - Darlington Cup
(Started 20th, Finished 24th)
14 - Darlington NNS
- Clint Bowyer
(Started 3rd, Finished 14th)
7 - Darlington Cup
(Started 18th, Finished 22nd)
6 - Darlington NNS
- Clint Bowyer
(Started 2nd, Finished 6th) - April
-
30 - Richmond Cup
(Started 10th, Finished 37th)
29 - Richmond NNS
- Paul Menard
(Started 6th, Finished 2nd)
23 - Nashville NNS
- Austin Dillon
(Started 3rd, Finished 7th)
17 - Talladega Cup
(Started 5th, Finished 12th)
16 - Talladega NNS
- Clint Bowyer
(Started 2nd, Finished 22nd)
9 - Texas Cup
(Started 19th, Finished 5th)
8 - Texas NNS
- Paul Menard
(Started 5th, Finished 3rd)
3 - Martinsville Cup
(Started 16th, Finished 38th) - March
-
27 - Fontana Cup
(Started 15th, Finished 16th)
26 - Fontana NNS
- Kevin Harvick
(Started 2nd, Finished 3rd)
20 - Bristol Cup
(Started 4th, Finished 5th)
19 - Bristol NNS
- Kevin Harvick
(Started 8th, Finished 6th)
6 - Las Vegas Cup
(Started 18th, Finished 12th)
5 - Las Vegas NNS
- Kevin Harvick
(Started 4th, Finished 28th) - February
-
27 - Phoenix Cup
(Started 13th, Finished 17th)
26 - Phoenix NNS
- Kevin Harvick
(Started 9th, Finished 3rd)
20 - Daytona Cup
(Started 19th, Finished 9th)
19 - Daytona NNS
- Clint Bowyer
(Started 1st, Finished 2nd)
