Catchfence

2011 NSCS Paul Menard - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

No. 27 NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet Impala

Race Notes and Quotes

This Week’s NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet at Martinsville Speedway … Paul Menard will pilot Chassis No. 349 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 27 Chevrolet Impala is a brand new addition to the RCR fleet, and will see its first laps on the race track during Friday’s practice session.

Menard at Martinsville… In his seven previous starts at Martinsville Speedway, Menard has finished each of his contested races and completed 99.8 percent of his laps (3,511 of 3,519). He has an average starting position of 26.6 and an average finishing position of 20.3, with his best finish of 13^th coming in the October 2010 event. His best start at the 0.526-mile speedway came in March 2010 when he took the green flag in the ninth position.

Menard Career Highlights …

• Number of NSCS starts:  152
• Career best start:  1st  (Daytona International Speedway, July 2008)
• Career best finish:  2nd  (Talladega Superspeedway, October 2008)
• Top-five finishes:  3
• Top-10 finishes:  10

Meet the Press … Menard will field questions from members of the press inside of Martinsville Speedway’s media center on Friday, April 1 at 10:45 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Showtime’s Inside NASCAR Highlights the No. 27 Team This Week … Catch behind-the-scenes action and exclusive interviews surrounding the No. 27 Serta/Menards team from Fontana on this week’s edition of Inside NASCAR, airing Wednesday, March 30 at 9 p.m and 11 p.m. EDT. It will continue to re-air throughout the weekend, including Sunday, April 3 at 9 a.m. Inside NASCAR airs exclusively on Showtime. For more information, please visit http://sports.sho.com/#/nascar.

NIBCO® – Ahead of the Flow® … With more than 105 years of experience, NIBCO products are used in residential, commercial construction, industrial and irrigation markets, worldwide. Products range from valves, ball valves, actuators, plastic and metal fittings, press-to-connect copper fittings, PEX piping systems, industrial plastics, to pipe hangers and support. NIBCO is headquartered in Elkhart, Ind., and operates 12 manufacturing plants located throughout the United States, Mexico and Poland. For more information on NIBCO, please visit www.NIBCO.com.

Race Rewind … Last week, Menard and the No. 27 team brought home a 16^th-place finish at Auto Club Speedway. He heads to Martinsville seventh in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings.

PAUL MENARD QUOTES:

Talk about your past experiences at Martinsville.

“I’ve struggled at Martinsville in the past. Last year, we actually had two really good races, and the fall of 2009, we ran in the top 10 until a pit stop hurt us. The last three times that I’ve been there, I’ve felt like I had a top-10 car. Things happen at Martinsville that are outside of your control. It’s kind of like a restrictor-plate track – there’s a lot of beating and banging, people not expecting to do it or trying to do it, it’s just apparent with the chain reactions and everyone checking up. You’ll get fenders tore up. You’ll have broken rear gears from wheel spin on exit. There are a lot of things that can happen. You just have to try and minimize all of that and stay out of trouble as best as you can.”

There is always someone around you at Martinsville. Do you enjoy that physicality of the race?

“Yes, it’s a very mental race and not as physical as you think. You drive into the corner and you kind lean of against your seat. There’s not a whole lot of load, but it’s very mental. You’re always checking your mirrors to see if anyone is going to dive bomb you, you are constantly trying to protect your inside, and if you get shuffled to the outside, you’re going to get freight-trained. It’s very mental just like a restrictor-plate race track.”

A lot of people say it takes a little while to learn your way around Martinsville. Where do you feel you are now? What is your knowledge of getting around Martinsville?

“Well, the two races last year went fairly well for us. Martinsville is one of those places that are a lot of fun to drive. You go out and practice or qualify, and it’s a lot of fun. You get in the race, and it’s like bumper cars. That part is actually not as fun. It’s a lot like Bristol. You have to manage your equipment and not put yourself in bad position. Things are going to happen outside of your control, but you just have to try and manage everything that you can control.”

Have your previous finishes at Martinsville proved to you that you’ve kind of learned that style? “Yeah, we ran in the top 10 all day in Bristol. I’ve had a few other races in my career that I’ve ran top 10 in all day. Those seem like the easy days where you don’t have to fight tooth and nail for everything – like get back on the lead lap or stay on the lead lap. It seems like people race harder for 20^th than they do for eighth. It’s something you learn as you go.”

How much carry over is there between Bristol and Martinsville?

“Zero. There’s nothing similar in the way you drive it or the setups on the car. Probably, the biggest thing that is carried over is the drive off of the corners. We have great ECR engines, over 800 horsepower, and trying to hook that power up off the corner is tough to do at Bristol – it’s even harder to do at Martinsville.”

Just because you finish in the top 10 at Bristol doesn’t mean you’re going to have a top-10 day at Martinsville, as well?

“Not at all. The Sprint Cup Series is so competitive. Three tenths could separate the whole field at Bristol and Martinsville, but when we go to California; it’s going to be eight tenths or something like that. It’s a tough sport, and there aren’t any guarantees.”

Did you like Martinsville when you first got there?

“I enjoy driving at Martinsville. It’s a fun track to drive. You really have to be patient with the car. You have to let the car roll and do the work. However, when you get into the race, it’s a whole other animal. There’s so much beating and banging going on. A lot of things are out of your control, and it gets very frustrating.”

- Richard Childress Racing, Press Release