Catchfence

2012 NSCS Paul Menard - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

No. 27 CertainTeed Insulation/Menards Chevrolet

Event Preview Fact Sheet

This Week’s CertainTeed Insulation/Menards Chevrolet … Paul Menard will pilot Chassis No. 328 from the Richard Childress Racing Sprint Cup Series stable in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. This No. 27 Chevrolet was last seen on track at Phoenix International Raceway in March where Menard finished 31^st after he was spun from behind. This chassis was also used in competition in 2011 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway and the November event at Phoenix.

No Holds Barred for $1 Million … Saturday night marks Menard’s first appearance in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. The No. 27 CertainTeed/Menards team qualified on the merit of the Brickyard 400 win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 2011). He has made five starts in the Sprint Showdown, earning his best result of fourth in the 2010 event.

How it Works … The 2012 Sprint All-Star Race consists of four 20-lap segments, topped off with a 10-lap sprint to the finish and a $1 million payout to the race winner. This year’s format will place a higher premium on wins during each of the four segments, as the winners of the first four segments will move to the front of the field and line up first through fourth prior to the field coming to pit road for the final mandatory pit stop. When the drivers come down pit road, crew chiefs will have to decide on their best pit strategy. The team that makes the best call and has optimum performance on pit road is likely to be out front for the final 10 laps of competition. Wherever the drivers are positioned as they come off pit road is where they will line up to start the final 10-lap segment.

Pit Crew Challenge 2012 … The No. 27 team will participate in the eighth-annual Sprint Pit Crew Challenge, kicking off the 2012 All-Star Week. The competition begins at 7 p.m. ET on May 17 at Time Warner Cable Arena. The event’s finishing order determines pit selection for the Sprint All-Star Race. Tickets for the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge start at $15 and can be purchased online at www.pitcrewchallenge.com or by calling the Charlotte Bobcats ticket office at 800-745-3000.

Tar Heels, Through and Through … The No. 27 team has several members from the Tar Heel State. Jackman Carey Wimbish is from Granite Falls, N.C., while rear-tire changer Aaron Smith was raised and still lives in Denton, N.C. Hauler driver Jeff “Cowboy” Icenhour calls Lenoir, N.C., home, and secondary driver Robert “Rocky” Boggs is from Burlington, N.C. Engineer Josh Threatte is from and still resides in Statesville, N.C., and graduated from UNC-Charlotte in 2007 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Race Rewind … In the 2011 Sprint Showdown, Menard started the No. 27 Moen/Menards Chevrolet from the third position and quickly drove up to the second spot. The competition caution was displayed on lap 20, ending the first of two segments. Following the start of the second segment, an accident on lap 27 brought out the yellow flag. On the ensuing restart, the leader approached the green flag at a very slow speed and then suddenly accelerated. As a result, Menard received hard contact from behind that sent the No. 27 Chevrolet Impala sideways and resulted in lost track position. It was all-or-nothing in the final 12 laps and from the seventh position, Menard fought a tire rub and ultimately finished 11^th.

In the Rearview Mirror: Darlington … Menard started from the 17^th position in Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway and was running third in the closing laps when he received heavy damage in a multi-car incident, relegating the No. 27 Turtle Wax/Menards Chevrolet team to a 17^th-place finish.

About CertainTeed … CertainTeed Corporation is a leading North American manufacturer of building materials including roofing, vinyl and fiber cement siding, trim, fence, railing, decking, foundations, insulation, gypsum, ceilings, and pipe products. Headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, CertainTeed has approximately 7,000 employees and 70 facilities throughout the United States and Canada. CertainTeed is a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, one of the top 100 industrial companies in the world. Saint-Gobain’s North American companies operate nearly 200 manufacturing facilities in industries as diverse as industrial ceramics and containers, reinforcements and flat glass, abrasives, and building materials. For more information, please visit www.certainteed.com.

PAUL MENARD QUOTES:

USATODAY

“There isn’t really one specific memory that jumps out, but the All-Star Race is always a really fun one to watch. In the last few years the format has been different. They continue to change it up and keep it exciting. This will be our first one and we’re looking forward to it.”

How long did it take to realize that along with the win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, you also qualified for the Sprint All-Star Race?

“It was pretty exciting to know that we qualified for both that and the (Budweiser) Shootout at Daytona (International Speedway). It’s a neat deal to be a part of and we’re excited. We’re definitely going to try to win but, at the same time, use it as a test session in order to learn some things we can apply to the following weekend’s race, the Coca-Cola 600. We’ve run in the Sprint Showdown the last several years and you can always learn something for the next week.”

Was racing in the Sprint All-Star Race something that you wanted to scratch off your bucket list?

“Sure, because that means you won a race. I’d like to win another race and get in the All-Star Race next year, and the year after that. It’s something that is neat to be a part of.”

How does it feel to be able to skip the Sprint Showdown because you get to go straight to the Sprint All-Star Race?
“It is nice to bypass the Sprint Showdown. We’ll get the same amount of practice time and the race itself will be a better learning process for us since it is truly during night conditions, so it will be similar to the Coca-Cola 600 race conditions.”

Source: Richard Childress Racing, Press Release