NASCAR: Paul Menard picks up the pace

Paul Menard is on the bubble. 

 

Yes, it’s only one-fourth of the way through the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, and plenty can happen over the next 17 races. But for the driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford, qualifying for the Playoffs for just the second time in his 13-year Cup career would be quite the accomplishment. 

 

And if Menard can continue to accumulate consistent runs, such as his 10th-place finish at Richmond Raceway, the 38-year-old Eau Claire, Wis., native will have a very good shot at the post-season. 

 

“It was kind of an uneventful night for me at Richmond,” Menard said. “The track has not been very kind to me, but we started ninth and ran in the back half of the top 10 all night long. Just a solid night. Gained some points and eyes on the Playoffs. 

 

“We’ve got to keep chipping away at it. Keep knocking off top 10s, top fives, and we’ll be all right.”

 

Menard wasn’t optimistic entering last weekend—and with good reason. Prior to last Saturday, his only other top-10 finish at the .75-mile track was fifth in the fall of 2013. 

 

However, in his second season with the Wood Brothers and crew chief Greg Erwin, the team can rely on their notes from last year at venues such as Bristol—where he finished sixth—and last weekend at Richmond, despite the move to a new aerodynamic/engine package at the larger tracks. His average finish on short tracks this season is 10.3.

 

“The 550 (horsepower) package (used on the intermediate speedways) has been different for us, for sure,” Menard said. “The 750 is kind of more of the same. We’ve got good notes to work with.

 

“The guys did really good in the (pit) box. It’s kind of been a struggle this year but they’ve really stepped it up over the last couple of weeks.  We’ve gained spots or maintained and that’s what you need when you start running in the top 10.”

 

Erwin believes the learning curve in the No. 21 Ford would have been expedited under the old rules. He's quick to point out that Menard would have likely had three-consecutive top 10 finishes had it not been for a loose wheel just past the two-thirds mark at Texas Motor Speedway.

 

"There has been lots of learning with the new downforce package," Erwin said. "I feel like we're improving weekly at this point of the season."

 

In 444 starts, Menard got his only win with Richard Childress Racing in the 2011 Brickyard 400. He scored his second career pole last year at Chicagoland Speedway with the Wood Brothers and has earned one top five and nine top 10s since joining the team. Given the Wood Brothers technical alliance with Team Penske, this might just be the best equipment Menard has campaigned in during his career.

 

“We get a lot of support from them for sure,” Menard said of Team Penske. “At the end of the day, it is up to Greg and myself and our engineers to figure out what to put in the car. We know a lot about what those guys are doing, and we use them for sure as a big tool.”

 

Menard has found a comfortable home with the Wood Brothers—his fifth team in 14 Cup seasons. Last month he visited the longest-running NASCAR team’s original shop in Stuart, Virginia, for an open house. Menard met with matriarch Bernece Wood and toured the museum with her son and current team co-owner Eddie Wood. 

 

Although Menard has all of the resources afforded to him with the Penske partnership—along with feedback from its three drivers Brad Keselowski, current Cup champion Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney—he also has the luxury of a single car team.

 

“They are really good people and a lot of fun to work with and we have a lot of resources we can draw from Team Penske so it is kind of the best of both worlds,” Menard said. “We have a small team that is very personalized with a lot of support from a larger team that we can draw from.”

 

After a bit of turkey hunting during the off week, Menard will be ready to roll when the tour returns to action next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. The Alabama venue has been a crapshoot for Menard over the last decade. His best result of second came in 2008 when he was the third car to cross the line behind Regan Smith, who was penalized for going below the yellow line. Tony Stewart won the race. In 25 starts, Menard has three top fives and seven top 10s--including his ninth-place finish last October. 

 

Like most of his peers, Menard has no clue what to expect from the superspeedway package NASCAR is introducing for the 2.66-mile track, a configuration with more downforce and less horsepower. 

 

“Yeah, I have no idea how it is going to race,” Menard said. “There is talk that the tandem might come into play. The big restriction with tandem racing is cooling. Our radiators and things aren’t made, the spec radiators don’t have the cooling we had a few years ago when we did the tandem. 

 

“I think you will see people get to people’s bumpers and push as long as they can.”

 

At 38, Menard is closing in on the twilight of his racing career—at least behind the wheel. His family’s home improvement business has been a staunch supporter of racing. In February, the family increased its backing of the ARCA Series to include the title sponsorship. In addition to sponsoring Paul, Menard’s has maintained a long-time relationship with Gander Outdoors champion Matt Crafton and signed on with Blaney last year.