A fan holds a cardboard cutout of Paul Menard, driver of the #27 Libman/Menards Chevrolet, during the Chase for the Sprint Cup post race party after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 12, 2015 Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Get ready fans, the Chase is about to go full force ahead at Chicagoland Speedway and the new guys are aligning themselves and their teams into position to compete against the bigger, more experienced teams with hopes of emerging as the underdogs and going for the NASCAR Sprint Cup title.
Overall this season, Richard Childress Racing teams have fared well, and now have two teams in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. One of those teams is the No. 27 of Paul Menard, who is contending in the Chase for the first time.
With Chicagoland Speedway where the Chase begins, Paul Menard is looking forward to racing there as the closest track to his home town throughout ten-races of the Chase. He has fond memories of growing up near Chicago, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin with his family business getting their start in one of the biggest markets in the country.
“This is as close to home as we get in the Cup series, it’s a huge market for us and my family stores. My Christmas vacations for two or three years in high school – we get two weeks off for Christmas and New Years – I’d come down here to Plano, a south-western suburb and run a fork lift in our warehouse down there with my cousins. I spent a lot of time in the suburbs of Chicago as a kid, just working when in high school. And there’s always concerts and things going on… so we’d take a weekend road trip and go see like Lenny Kravitz and some of the bigger bands of the time…a lot of memories.”
Menard’s, the company has become a home improvement empire across the country, and Paul Menard now separates himself from the rest of his Chase competition after someone told him, his fans are calling this year’s Chase, 15 nations and one empire.
“I was in Richmond when somebody came up said they wanted to meet the emperor. So I signed an autograph. So it’s cool, I hear about it and it’s a pretty cool deal.
But will Menard follow in the footsteps of his family business when it comes to the Chase? And how’s he dealing with the pressure leading up to this weekend?
Although there is obviously some pressure, it seems he has the right idea about the start of the playoff competition.
“There’s definitely some nerves involved, and trying to minimize mistakes and have good solid races leading up to that (The Chase)… We dodged some bullets at Darlington…we lost power steering and wound up with a decent finish. Richmond was not a good race for us, but we did what we had to do and now we’re in the Chase. And everything starts again, back to square one at Chicago. I feel good about Chicago, it’s been a fun track, a great track for me and we’re going to start it off right.”
Menard is feeling pretty good about the Chase starting at Chicagoland, although his first week has been a busy one. Typically, Menard has time to debrief at the shop on Monday, work out on Tuesday and take time with the family on Wednesday, before the restart of a new race weekend. In some ways, this week seems typical as Menard knows what he and his team need to do.
It’s been a busier week leading up the event this week obviously, but we’re still preparing Monday morning at the shop like we do every week talking about Richmond with a debrief and looking forward to Chicago. I feel good about how we’re going to approach it . We’re just going to put our heads down and go as far in this deal as we can.”
Although in some ways this week is just more of the same, there are certainly ways that it’s been different too.
“We tested yesterday at Kansas. Monday was kind of a normal day. Tuesday I went to Martinsville, got a parade and they gave me the key to the city and a bunch of fun stuff at Martinsville. From there we flew out to Kansas and tested all day yesterday and then turn around and flew up here (Chicago) last night. And here (Media Day) we are today. So a busier week than normal – it’s different that’s for sure.”
And that’s not all that’s different, Menard says he’s in a better position this year and that’s why they’re in the Chase and not on the outside looking in.
“Since 2011 going in to Richmond, so 2011, 12, 13 14, We were in position to make the Chase. We had a shot at it points wise and obviously with the last two years… if you win and you’re in. So a lot of people had a shot, but point wise, we were in a really good spot. But I kind of saw it slip away a lot in the summer.
“This year, there’s just a lot more consistency, we minimized mistakes. We took the car when we had a 15th-place car and we would sometimes over achieve a little bit by making some adjustments that helped us. So just a lot more consistent year for us.”
As for preparing for the Chase, Menard says he’s not going to change anything in how he prepares for any race, except he may just step it up a little bit.
So, can Menard take his empire all the way by continuing his consistency and minimizing mistakes to contend against the Chase veterans for the championship at Homestead-Miami? There’s a whole empire of Menard fans that say, yes!
Time will tell the rest of his story. But before anyone quickly dismisses the possibility, take a moment to recall another Richard Childress Racing team – the No. 31 with Ryan Newman, who was winless last season – and finished second in the 2014 Chase with consistency and very few mistakes.