Cup Car Notes - Pittsburgh Paints Chevrolet Impala SS

Nextel Cup Primary Car: Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chassis #19/ Back up Car #22
Last Used:  Car #019 was tested at South Boston last week and also at Iowa Speedway in August.  Prior to the test, it was raced at the following tracks: Phoenix – April 2007 (qualified 33rd; finished 25th) Richmond – May 2007 (qualified 33rd; finished 16th) New Hampshire – July 2007 (qualified 35th; finished 39th) New Hampshire – September 2007 (qualified 17th; finished 24th).
Fun ‘Cup’ Fact: Paul Menard’s Car Chief (“B” Hoover) was on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team in 2003 and 2004. During that time, Earnhardt Jr. never qualified worse than fourth at Martinsville Speedway.

OVERALL NOTES OF INTEREST
While Sunday’s race will be Menard’s first Cup start at Martinsville Speedway, his previous Martinsville experience includes a 12th place finish in last year’s NASCAR Busch Series event, in which Menard also led for 23 laps.

Testing, Testing, One, Two, Three
Menard tested chassis #19 at South Boston Speedway last week in preparation for this weekend’s Subway 500.  At the test, the team worked on the car’s steering box and braking package.  They will bring an upgraded braking package to the track this weekend since brakes are key at Martinsville.

Raybestos Rookie Power
Currently, Menard stands third in overall Raybestos Rookie ratings.  He has 184 points; 42 points behind Juan Pablo Montoya who leads the battle with 226 points.  Menard has won Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors in four events this season, including Kansas, Richmond, Phoenix and Watkins Glen.  

Curb Your Enthusiasm
According to Menard’s car chief “B” Hoover, drivers need to beware of the curb surrounding the .526-mile oval track.  With lap times being separated by one-hundredths in qualifying, even brief contact with the curb could be the difference between qualifying in the top-10 and lining up in the back.    

Standings Status
Paul Menard is currently 34th in Driver’s Points, while the No. 15 team gained one spot up to 29th in Owner’s Standings following last weeks race at Charlotte. The team is has a 329 point cushion on the top-35.    

Cheese and Beer a Plus at Martinsville
Wisconsin bred racers are notorious for short track excellence, but more specifically Raybestos Rookie contenders hailing from the Dairy State have historically done well in their first Cup races at Martinsville Speedway.  In 1986, Alan Kulwicki finished fourth in his first appearance at the track; three years later Dick Trickle finished third in the same event.  Dave Marcis is the only Wisconsin driver to visit Victory Lane at Martinsville.  He won the Old Dominion 500 in September of 1975.    

Kansas Quotes:
 
Paul Menard on the Cup Race:
“We tested this car and we were pretty happy with it.  We’ve definitely made headway with the COT in the second half of the season.  This will be much different than when I came here in the spring and had to get it done on Friday in qualifying.  Now we can actually focus on race day set up and set some goals for Sunday.”

Nextel Cup Crew Chief Dave Charpentier on the Cup Race:
“We tested at South Boston last week and went there to work on the braking package – we have an upgraded package for this weekend since brakes are key at Martinsville.  Martinsville is a technique track, it’s a rhythm track, so we’ll spend the majority of Friday’s practice working on race set up and then put some tape on at the end and see how we qualify.  Actually race speed could be faster than qualifying speeds in some cases.  And qualifying is secondary now that we’re locked in.”