Sprint Cup Primary Car: Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chassis #056
Last Used:   Texas Motor Speedway (qualified 19th; finished 17th)

Overall Notes of Interest
Menards Racing looks to rebound on home turf during this weekend’s Coca Cola 600. Six hundred miles amounts to 400 laps of on track action at Charlotte, where Paul Menard’s sights are set on a top-10 finish. The Menards/Dale Earnhardt Inc. pit crew will have its greatest test of the season as they will likely perform at least ten pit stops over the course of the race.
“It’s a long night for everyone involved with the team,” Crew Chief Doug Randolph said. “The driver, the pit crew, even the fans are in for a long night at Charlotte.”

One person not worried about the 600-mile trek to the checkered flag is the driver of the No. 15 Menards/Johns Manville Chevrolet.

“We usually run 500 miles, so what's another 100?” Menard said. “I don’t do anything different to prepare for this race. I just stay hydrated throughout the week and have a good meal the night before the race.”

Menard got his feet wet at the 1.5-mile quad-oval during last weekend’s Sprint Showdown. He qualified 12th and finished 16th after making contact with the outside retaining wall on lap one of the 40 lap event.
In two previous Cup races at Charlotte, Menards best qualifying effort is 17th (October, 2007) and his best finish is 14th (May, 2006).

Standings Status
Paul Menard is currently 24th in Driver’s Points, while the No. 15 team fell to 25th in Owner’s Standings following the race at Darlington Raceway.

Over the Wall Crew Hoping to Lock Into Pit Crew Challenge
Menards Racing over-the-wall crew, trained by Walt Smith, is one of the best crews in the business. According to Walt, the team’s pit stop times are among the top-ten in the series. The team’s solid performance on pit road is something that gives Menard piece of mind on the race track. “It’s much easier to pass cars on pit road than it is on the racetrack and this team usually picks me up a spot or two on pit road.” Menard said of the over-the-wall crew.

Charlotte Quotes:
 
Paul Menard on the race:
“We didn't test our Showdown car, so it threw us a curve when we unloaded,” Menard said. “We had a great test with our 600 car though and we have a lot of good notes to look at depending on track conditions. We'll be playing mostly with shocks, maybe a little bit of spring rate to tune it to the weather conditions. Charlotte is a fast track and a great track to drive, but with the tire we race, you have to be really careful on those first few laps and let your tires warm up before you make any daring moves.”

Crew Chief Doug Randolph on the race:
“This is the car we tested at Charlotte so we feel pretty good about it,” Randolph said. “After our contact with the wall on the first lap Saturday in the Sprint Showdown, our toe was out 3/8”, so it was hard to learn much from that race that will help us this weekend. But we had a great test so we’ll try to draw on that information and look for another strong day with the Menards Chevy.”