Phoenix: Paul Menard preview

Menards Team Excited for

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 8, 2008) -- Paul Menard and his Dale Earnhardt Inc. teammates have plenty to look forward to heading to Phoenix International Raceway for this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup event. Not only is the team coming off a 17th place run at Texas, it's fifth top-25 finish this season, but the driver of the No. 15 Johns Manville/Menards Chevrolet has also visited victory lane at the one-mile oval on multiple occasions. All things considered, Menards Racing is on a roll and Phoenix is the perfect stop on the circuit to extend the team's success streak.

"I have always been a big fan of Phoenix," Menard said. "It's just a track that suits my driving style."

Menard finished 25th and 22nd place respectively, in last year's two events at Phoenix. He hopes to improve on those finishes this Saturday night in the Subway Fresh Fit 500.

"We learned a few things last year at Phoenix that helped us at the test," Menard said. "We took that information and really built on it during the two day session."

Menard's showing at last month's Phoenix test was another source of inspiration for the team. The No. 15 team clocked in the second fastest lap overall during the two-day test.

In addition to his experience in a Sprint Cup car at the track, Menard has a couple of Phoenix victories in other series' to his resume.

Menard won a Grand-Am race at the track in 2002 and returned to the track later that year to score the win in the NASCAR Southwest Tour Series. In that particular race, Menard completed an exciting last lap pass over veteran driver Ken Schrader to score his first Southwest Tour Victory.

-credit: pm/dei