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April 2, 2012

Paul Menard and the No. 27 Team Endure Long Day at Martinsville Speedway to Finish 26th

"We felt like we had a good setup coming off of our practice sessions but we struggled with the early long green-flag runs."

Start – 11      

Finish – 26        

Laps Led – 0       

Points Position – 14


Paul Menard and the No. 27 Libman/Menards race team finished 26th in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. Starting from the 11th position in front of an estimated crowd of 63,000 at the half-mile oval, Menard quickly moved the No. 27 Chevrolet into the top10 but began to experience handling conditions that plagued the team throughout the course of the event. Long green-flag runs during the first half of the 500-lap event provided limited opportunity for crew chief Slugger Labbe and the No. 27 team to make the necessary chassis adjustments to assist Menard, and the bright yellow machine dropped to the 22nd position on the leaderboard by the halfway point of the event. The Eau Claire, Wis., native fought to regain track position after major chassis adjustments by Labbe during a pit stop on lap 324 greatly improved the balance on the Libman/Menards Chevrolet. A speeding penalty on their final pit stop of the day, however, required a return trip down pit road for the No. 27 Chevrolet and dropped Menard to the 26th position, where he ultimately finished the event. The 26th-place result puts Menard 14th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings.

PAUL MENARD QUOTE:
“Today was a tough day for the No. 27 team and the RCR organization. We felt like we had a good setup coming off of our practice sessions but we struggled with the early long green-flag runs. Then the speeding penalty toward the end of the race hurt us even further. We’ll regroup and get back after it at Texas (Motor Speedway).”

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