Catchfence

Paul Menard - Photo Credit: John Harrelson / Getty Images

No. 27 Peak/Menards Chevrolet Impala

Race Notes and Quotes

This week’s Peak/Menards Chevrolet at Phoenix International Raceway … Paul Menard will pilot chassis No. 328 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 27 Chevrolet Impala was a brand new addition to the RCR fleet for the 2011 season and was last seen on track at Darlington Raceway in May, where Menard started 18th and finished 22nd. This racer also saw competition at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (March) where he started 18th and finished 12th and was utilized in the October test session at PIR.

Phoenix Tidbits … In his nine previous starts at the one-mile raceway, Menard has completed 99.5 percent of his laps (2,861 of 2,875). He has an average starting position of 20.8 and an average finishing position of 24.6, with his best finish of 17th coming earlier this year in the March event. His best start at the Avondale, Ariz.-based track came in April 2009 when the Eau Claire, Wis., native rolled off from the seventh position.

Round One in the Arizona Desert … Menard started the No. 27 Chevrolet Impala from the 13th position in March’s Fresh Fit 500, and was able to finish 17th despite battling a tight-handling condition for the majority of the 312-lap event.

A Loopy Year in Review … After 34 races, Menard has an average starting position of 11.7, tying him for fifth among of all drivers and tying third among those competing full time. He maintains an average running position of 16.671, has made 3,880 green-flag passes (ranked fourth of all drivers), has spent 4,506 laps racing in the top 15 (ranked 19th of all drivers), and is ranked fourth in the Loop Data category of Quality Passes (1,936 green-flag passes while running in the Top 15). He has also completed 96.1 percent of his contested laps this season (9,693 of 10,071).

2011 Season Statistics:

Starts: 34

Win: 1

Top-five finishes: 4

Top-10 finishes: 7

Best start: 2nd (Pocono Raceway, June and Chicagoland Speedway)

Best finish: 1st (Indianapolis Motor Speedway)

Laps led: 81

When You PEAK, You Win.™ …When you want maximum protection for your car, you want to reach for PEAK Performance products. Whatever you drive, PEAK can take it on. PEAKS offers products for all of your needs under the hood, as well as products to clean, dry and polish your vehicle. From antifreeze, to motor oil, to truck bed liners, PEAK has you covered.

Race Rewind … One year ago, Menard started the 312-lap event at PIR from the 19th position. He reported to crew chief Slugger Labbe that his machine was tight through the center of the corners, which was affecting his drive off. Despite an array of air pressure and chassis adjustments made during each visit to pit road, when the checkered flag flew, Menard was in 29th place.

In the Rearview Mirror: Texas … Menard and the Quaker State/Menards team started from the fourth position and brought the No. 27 Chevrolet Impala home with a top-15 result in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500, taking every opportunity to adjust the car’s handling as the track’s conditions changed with incoming cloud cover and the dipping sun at Texas Motor Speedway.

PAUL MENARD QUOTES:

You were real fast at the test out at Phoenix International Raceway in October. How confident do you feel going back?

“I have no idea what it’s going to be like when we go back. It took about a half of a day for the track to come finally come in when we were testing. We definitely learned some things. It’s mainly a one-groove race track, but at the end of the test, the middle groove in the corner started to come in where the cars were washing up. No one really knows what to expect. It’s going to be interesting.”

For those that haven’t seen it, can you talk about the differences between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ track (Phoenix International Raceway reconfiguration)?

“They did a great job paving it. It’s a beautiful facility. It almost looks like a track you would see in a video game. Everything is almost perfect. Whether it will leave for better racing, I hope so. With the progressive banking, it should eventually make racing better. It’s going to be interesting for the first race.”

A lot of drivers like the backstretch (at Phoenix International Raceway). What do you think?

“It changes in the amount of banking for the exit of turn two into turn three. Now you have to dogleg there, which you go down then back up because of the new banking. It’s a pretty substantial corner. You can run it wide open, but two-wide is going to be a little hairy.”

- Richard Childress Racing, Press Release