Daytona Beach, FL – Paul Menard took to the track Monday morning for the first time in 2008.  Menard and the No. 15 Dale Earnhardt Inc. team brought chassis #42 and #35 to Daytona for the second session of NASCAR Sprint Cup testing.
 
“I’m happy to be back at the track.” Menard said in a press conference Monday evening.  “I know some guys think of testing as being sort of a hassle, but I actually really enjoy it.  We learned a few key things today.  Having the benefit of two teams testing last week, we came here a step ahead.  We were decent off the truck and we got even better in the afternoon.  I think where you’ll see our team excel is in drafting, which begins tomorrow afternoon, I guess.  That’s where we were the strongest last year."
 
After just two sessions of testing, chassis #42 emerged the favorite for the driver who hopes to decide by tomorrow which car will be the team's primary entry for Daytona next month.
 
In all, there are 28 drivers and 50 cars taking single car runs today.
 
The fastest in the morning session was No. 44B-Jarrett with a speed of 184.987mph, which was faster then last weeks fastest single-car run of No. 48-Johnson [184.782], followed by No. 88B-Earnhardt Jr. in his new Hendrick Motorsports ride, No. 40-Franchitti, No. 20A-Stewart and No. 11B-Hamlin. The fastest Ford was No. 38A-Gilliland. The slowest car was No. 09A-Marlin at 178.880 mph.
 
The fastest in the afternoon was No. 22B-Blaney at 185.445mph in single car runs, followed by No. 88B-Earnhardt Jr., No. 83A-Vickers, No. 44A-Jarrett and No. 55-Waltrip. Toyotas had 8 of the fastest times in the top-10. No. 40-Franchitti was the fastest Dodge Charger at 10th and No. 38A-Gilliland was the fastest Ford Fusion at 14th.
 
Menard’s speeds shaped up as follows:
 
AM Session
 
Car #15B was 37th quick (181.196 mph)
Car #15A was 44th quick (180.672 mph)
 
PM Session
 
Car #15A was 29th quick (182.645 mph)
Car #15B was 36th quick (182.024 mph)
 
In addition to his on track activities, Menard was interviewed during the lunch hour by reporters from NASCAR Scene and the Daytona Beach News Journal.
 
After testing was complete for the day, Menard was featured in a press conference in the Daytona International Speedway media center.

Daytona Testing photo gallery - click here