NASCAR Cup

Talladega: Paul Menard preview

Menards Racing Looking for Top-10 at Talladega MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 21, 2008) -- Paul Menard and the members of the No. 15 Menards/Dale Earnhardt Inc. team have a common goal heading into this weekend's Aaron's 499 -- to add to the ...

Edited: Apr 23, 2008, 3:26 AM

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Menards Racing Looking for Top-10 at Talladega

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 21, 2008) -- Paul Menard and the members of the No. 15 Menards/Dale Earnhardt Inc. team have a common goal heading into this weekend's Aaron's 499 -- to add to the already impressive history of DEI superspeedway success by turning in a top-10 finish in Sunday's race.

"We're obviously still searching for that first top-10 of the season and I'd like to think we could come away from Talladega with that feat behind us," Menard said. "But anything can happen on a superspeedway. If we're running in the top-10 on that last lap, we could just as easily find ourselves in Victory Lane, which would be a great way to add to DEI's history of success at Talladega."

The goal is certainly an attainable one, given the team's budding momentum over the past several weeks. Menard's continued ascension up the NASCAR Sprint Cup ranks, where he now sits 22nd in driver points, comes as no surprise to Crew Chief Doug Randolph.

"Paul is a consistent and steadfast driver," Randolph said. "I've seen that you can count on him to give as much effort on the last lap as he does on the first, no matter what. We've seen his dedication pay off several times this year."

Menard will pilot a brand new chassis during this weekend's 188-lap event. Randolph and the team spent time building this racecar with the intention of it being the team's Talladega primary and the results of their efforts will first be seen on Friday during practice. Given the fact that this weekend's event is an impound race, both Menard and Randolph are focused on race day goals rather than concerning themselves with qualifying during the two practice sessions.

"We won't put hardly any emphasis on qualifying," Menard said. "We'll be in the draft most of Friday's practice sessions just working on getting the car to close up to the car in front. Handling is not that important, but we'll still need to keep it nice and free to keep from scrubbing off speed because of having to turn the steering wheel too much."

In addition to his on track competition, Menard will have car care on his mind this weekend as he sports the colors of Turtle Wax on the hood of his Chevrolet.

"We'll be sporting Turtle Wax proudly this weekend, as we have for the past five years," Menard said. "I don't think there's a Turtle Wax product out there that I haven't tried. I'd have to say all of the products are very easy to use and the chrome polish is excellent for the wheels on my Chevy truck!"

-credit: mr/dei

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