Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol, Tenn.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Food City 500
Sunday, March 22nd
1:30 PM Eastern TV – FOX
1:00 PM Eastern RADIO – PRN
Paul Menard No. 98 Johns Mansville / Menards Ford
Travis Kvapil No. 28 Golden Corral Ford
NASCAR Nationwide Series: Scott’s Turf Builder 300
Saturday, March 21st
2:00 PM Eastern TV – ESPN 2
2:00 PM Eastern RADIO – PRN
Paul Menard No. 98 Richmond / Menards Ford Fusion
Paul Menard
In the Sprint Cup Series, Menard has recorded three starts at Bristol Motor Speedway.
His best finish in three starts was last August when Menard started and finished the race from the 16th position.
Johns Manville will be back on the hood of the No. 98 Johns Manville / Menards Ford Fusion for this weekend’s Food City 500.
In the Nationwide Series, Menard has six starts and has recorded one top-10 finish (August 2006).
Menard has an average start of 16.8 in his six starts in the Nationwide Series.
Menard will make his first Nationwide Series start for Yates Racing and Ford Racing this weekend with crew chief Matt Puccia calling the shots atop the pit box.
Richmond will be on the hood of the No. 98 Richmond / Menards Ford Fusion for this weekend’s Scott’s Turf Builder 300
Travis Kvapil
Kvapil’s best finish in the Sprint Cup series at Bristol Motor Speedway came in April 2005 when he finished seventh.
This weekend, Kvapil will pilot the No. 28 Golden Corral Ford Fusion in the Food City 500. If Kvapil finishes in the top 10, kids under the age of 12 eat for free on Monday.
In the Camping World Truck Series, Kvapil has recorded three starts at Bristol Motor Speedway with one win and three finishes in the top 11.
Kvapil has one career Truck pole award at Bristol Motor Speedway, recorded in August 2007.
Team: No. 98 Johns Manville / Menards Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Larry Carter
Chassis: Primary – RK-462
Backup – RK-506
Menard on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
“After a weekend off I’m really excited to get back to the track this weekend. We certainly haven’t started our season off the way we wanted to and have fallen back a little bit in the points. We’ve had some solid cars, but just haven’t had the luck on the track that we’ve had in setting them up. We know we are in a tough spot in the points and need a solid run this weekend at Bristol.
Bristol is a track that I feel I’ve run pretty well at in the past and hopefully we can have a solid run this weekend to help us out a little. This weekend at Bristol is my first weekend back in a Nationwide car for Yates Racing. It’s been a long time since I’ve run the Nationwide Series, but looking forward to getting back out there on Saturday and seeing what we can learn for the race on Sunday. If we can qualify well this weekend and stay out of trouble on the track it should be a good weekend for our No. 98 Johns Manville Ford Fusion.”
Crew Chief Larry Carter on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
“Racing at Bristol is always a lot of fun and I think after a weekend off all the guys are ready to get back to the track. Certainly, we have a lot of ground to make up this weekend at Bristol, as our season certainly hasn’t gotten off to the start that we were hoping for this year. Whether it was bad luck or being caught up in a wreck we are in a tough position right now. All the guys know what we need to get it done and hopefully we can start this weekend with a good solid run for Paul and the No. 98 team.”
Team: No. 28 Golden Corral Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Ben Leslie
Chassis: Primary – RK – 516
Backup – RK – 530
Kvapil on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
“Bristol is one of my favorite tracks that we visit. I’ve been pretty successful at Bristol in the past in both the trucks and the Cup series. We’ve had some solid runs there. I really liked the old Bristol, before they repaved it, but since then it’s become a different track. Where before you had to bump the guy ahead of you off the bottom, now you can run the high line or the low line, basically wherever you could make your car work.
Ben and all the guys on the No. 28 team have done a great job over the last five weeks getting our car ready and fast when we unload at the track. Unfortunately we haven’t had a lot of luck on the race track. It was tough last week when we lost the engine so early in the race. I thought we had a great car and were moving through the field pretty well. We have Golden Corral back on the car this weekend and looking forward to giving them a great finish in Bristol this weekend.”
Crew chief Ben Leslie on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
“If there is one thing important about Bristol it’s qualifying. In opening practice on Friday we’ll focus completely on qualifying for the race and making sure that we put ourselves in a good position for the race on Sunday. The further in the back that you qualify the tougher it is to make your way through the field and the easier it is to get lapped early into the race. I think we have a great car for this weekend’s race and should have a great showing in our No. 28 Golden Corral Ford Fusion.”
Yates Racing, Press Release