Richard Childress Racing

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April 24, 2012

Paul Menard Event Preview: Capital City 400

You have to drive both ends of the track differently, much like you would at any of the tri-oval tracks that we go to, like a Texas (Motor Speedway) or Kansas (Speedway).

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Event Preview Fact Sheet

Paul Menard
No. 27 NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet

Event/Date:
Capital City 400 Presented by Virginia is for Lovers
April 28, 2012

Venue:
Richmond International Raceway

Race Notes and Quotes:

This Week’s NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet at Richmond International Raceway ... Paul Menard will pilot Chassis No. 380 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 27 Chevrolet is a brand new addition to the RCR fleet and will log its first laps during Friday’s practice session.

Menard at Richmond ... In 10 starts at RIR, Menard has finished each of his contested races and completed 97 percent of his laps (3,801 of 4,010). He has an average starting position of 27.3 and an average finishing position of 28.9 with his best finish of 16th coming in the May 2007 event. Menard posted his best start at the 0.75-mile oval in his September 2010 visit to the Richmond, Va.-based facility when he took the green flag in the seventh position. He has recorded three top-five and five top-10 finishes and led for 160 laps at RIR in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition.

Getting Loopy in 2012 ... With the first eight points-paying events of the 2012 season in the books, Menard sits 14th in the Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings, 31 points out of the final Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup spot. In his sophomore year with RCR, Menard has an average starting position of 20.9, an average finishing position of 16.9 and maintains a 19.02 average running position. The Eau Claire, Wis., native ranks second in the NASCAR Loop Data category of Closers, advancing an average of 2.4 positions in the final 10 percent of the eight contested races, and has completed 99.3 percent of his laps (2,509 of 2,526).

Paul Menard LIVE for Chevy Q&A … Fans can participate in a question-and-answer session with Menard on Saturday, April 28 at 3:15 p.m. ET at the Chevy Stage, located in the merchandise area.

#QS400 or Bust … Quaker State and Menards have kicked off a consumer sweepstakes offer that will run through May 15. Fans can visit their nearest Menards for real durable Quaker State motor oil and a chance to win an all expenses paid trip for two to the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. For details and to enter, visit your local Menards store. See www.Menards.com for locations.

Race Rewind ... At RIR in April 2011, Menard started in the 10th position but handling issues plagued the team throughout the 400-lap event. The team remained on track during a late-race caution, pushing back into the top 10, however, hopes of salvaging a solid finish were dashed when a multi-car accident on lap 301 collected the No. 27 Chevrolet. Repairs to the heavily damaged car resulted in a disappointing 37th-place finish.

In the Rearview Mirror: Kansas ... Menard started the No. 27 Zecol/Menards Chevrolet in the 19th position in last weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway and earned an 18th-place finish after battling with handling issues throughout the STP 400.

About NIBCO ... NIBCO is a recognized industry leader of flow control solutions to the residential and commercial construction, institutional, industrial, fire protection and irrigation markets. Headquartered in Northern Indiana, NIBCO has more than 107 years of manufacturing history with products ranging from valves, actuation, metal and plastic fittings, PEX piping systems, lead-free* fittings and valves, and industrial plastics. Serving a global marketplace, NIBCO operates 10 manufacturing plants throughout the United States, Mexico and Poland. Visit www.NIBCO.com for more information. *≤0.25% lead content

PAUL MENARD QUOTES:
With a couple of short-track races in the books this year, how do you feel about the No. 27 Chevrolet team’s short-track program?
“If intermediate tracks are our strength, short-track racing is our weakness. At Phoenix (International Raceway) we had a really good car. Unfortunately, we got tangled up in a wreck. It was a shame because we could have easily gotten a top-10 finish there. Richmond (International Raceway) is very comparable to Phoenix. The banking and the speeds you run are very similar. Richmond is a little bit smaller and with tighter corners. I feel like we’ve finally figured something out at Phoenix, but we’ve struggled at Richmond in the past and are still trying to get a hold of it.”

Richmond International Raceway is a unique track in that it is a short track but you get the speeds of a bigger track. What are your thoughts?
“The way it is shaped like a ‘D,’ you have a really big arch into turn one. Turn three is almost like a Martinsville (Speedway) turn. It has a really sharp entrance and it’s not very open. On exit, it opens back up with the ‘D’ shape. You have to drive both ends of the track differently, much like you would at any of the tri-oval tracks that we go to, like a Texas (Motor Speedway) or Kansas (Speedway).

A lot of drivers say that turn two is the toughest at Richmond International Raceway. What are your thoughts?
“The wall comes at you in a hurry when you come off of turn two. I think that is the original race track when it was a true oval. They reconfigured it to the ‘D’ shape and worked on the frontstretch. Turn two still has the old feel to it. You have pretty good banking into turn one, then it really pinches off and the radius gets really sharp on the exit of turn two. It flattens out a lot too, so you have to drive off of the corner really low and give yourself room to slide up the track.”
 

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