LOUDON, N.H. (June 29, 2008) – Paul Menard and the No. 15 team endured a long day of racing at New Hampshire International Speedway to come away with a respectable 29th place finish in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301.
 
“Everybody worked hard for this finish today,” Menard said.  “We struggled in the early part of the weekend, but I think the team did a great job making the best of the situation here at Loudon.  You always want more out of a finish whether it’s a top-25 or a top-10, but I think we’ll have some great notes to refer to when we come back in September.”
 
After qualifying 42nd for the 301-lap event, Menard and Crew Chief Doug Randolph worked diligently during Saturday’s two practice sessions to come up with a solid set up for Sunday.  After practicing 30th and 34th, respectively in the two sessions, bothMenard and Randolph felt good about the handling of the No. 15 Sylvania/Menards Chevrolet.
 
Upon taking the green flag Sunday afternoon, Menard quickly advanced five positions from his starting spot and spent the opening laps of the race running between 33rd and 37th place.  Despite reporting a slightly tight handling condition with his racecar, Menard continued to record competitive lap times.
 
While the leaders were coming fast and putting many cars a lap down, Menard managed to hang on to the lead lap until lap 139.  At that point, the team began to strategize ways to earn the lucky dog free pass.  Unfortunately, the opportunity didn’t come and Menard went an additional lap down on lap 266.  
 
Due to rain, the race was called official on lap 284 and Menard came home in 29th place.  The finish allowed Menard to maintain his standing in both NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers and owners points.
 
Next week Menards Racing returns to the superspeedway circuit at Daytona International Speedway.