BRISTOL, T.N. (August 24, 2008) – Paul Menard made a strong showing at the Bristol Motor Speedway in last night’s Sharpie 500. After qualifying 16th for the 500-lap event, Menard spent a better part of the race inside the top-15 before settling on a solid 16th place finish.
“It was a great day for the whole organization,” Menard said after the race. “We had three DEI cars all in the top-16, which is a pretty good indication of how much our short track program has improved in the last year.”
Upon taking the green flag for the Bristol night race, Menard maintained his 16th place starting spot, piloting his Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevy around the half mile track. The first caution flag of the night would not fly until lap 98 forcing Menard to drop back four positions to 19th due to a slight handling condition in the center of the corners.
The Dale Earnhardt Inc. pit crew performed its usual quick service to Menard’s racecar, which featured a special ‘Driven to the Outdoors’ camouflage paint scheme. Menard restarted the race in 15th place and proceeded to embark on another long green flag run.
By the time the second caution flag flew on lap 197, Menard had caught the top-10 pack of cars and reported to Crew Chief Doug Randolph that the car “really came to life on a long run.” That same caution flag resulted in a red flag for extensive clean up of a seven car accident that Menard barely missed.
Once the race restarted, Menard was fighting for grip on the track and fell back to 17th place before going one lap down on lap 281. Because Menard had just been lapped by leader Kyle Busch, he was awarded the Lucky Dog Free Pass back to the lead lap.
He restarted in the 16th position on lap 294, but once again succumbed to leader Busch on lap 330.
A caution flag for debris shortly after resulted in a second Lucky Dog Free Pass for Menard on lap 364 and ignited cheers from the crew for the team’s good fortune. When Menard pit for four tires, fuel and adjustments on lap 366, the team helped Menard by gaining an additional two spots on pit road.
Ultimately, Menard would finish in 16th place in the Sharpie 500, making the overall weekend a solid one for Menards Racing the Dale Earnhardt Inc. backed team.
With the 16th place finish in the books at Bristol, Menard holds on to his 28th place standing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver’s points.
Next week the series heads west to California for the Sunday night race at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.
