NASCAR Cup

Watkins Glen: Paul Menard preview

Menard Ready for Watkins Glen Road Course Action MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 7, 2008) -- Paul Menard has become increasingly comfortable on the 11-turn 2.45-mile road course in upstate New York. Menard, who pilots the No. 15 Menards/Dale ...

Published: Aug 8, 2008, 12:47 PM

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Menard Ready for Watkins Glen Road Course Action

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 7, 2008) -- Paul Menard has become increasingly comfortable on the 11-turn 2.45-mile road course in upstate New York. Menard, who pilots the No. 15 Menards/Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, is set to qualify for this weekend's Centurion Boats at The Glen before completing 90 laps of competition in route to Sunday's checkered flag.

It will be Menard's fifth start at the track where he made his Sprint Cup debut in 2003. At the time, Menard was driving for Andy Petree and finished a respectable 29th place in his breakout performance at Watkins Glen. In last year's race, Menard turned in a 19th place finish -- his best performance to date at the track. In four previous starts at the track, Menard has completed every lap of racing action and hopes to improve on his past performance during this weekend's event.

"I've got a lot of experience at Watkins Glen and it's all been pretty positive," Menard said. "I'm not sure why some guys take to road course and others do not. I've just been lucky to have so many opportunities to race on a road course and for the most part my results have been solid. Obviously, our goals are the same as they always are; I want to leave Watkins Glen with a top-20 finish. But a top-10 would be even better."

Menard's other competitive showing on a road course this year, came at Infineon Raceway, where Menard qualified 29th and finished 34th.

Crew Chief Doug Randolph feels good about the team's preparation for this weekend's race at Watkins Glen and knows his driver's fondness for the track can translate to race day success.

"We've had a couple of really solid road course tests with this car and I think Paul is really excited about this weekend," Randolph said. "This is the car that we tested at Road Atlanta a few weeks back and I think it's really fast and a lot better handling than our Sears Point car. I'd say we're definitely ahead of the game and ready for Watkins Glen."

-credit: pm

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