PAUL MENARD
Race: DRIVE4COPD 300 Daytona International Speedway
Team: No. 98 Richmond/Menards Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Matt Puccia
Broadcast Information: 1:15 p.m. (EST) ESPN2 and MRN radio affiliates

FAST FACTS
• PAUL MENARD will make his seventh NASCAR Nationwide Series start at Daytona International Speedway in Saturday’s DRIVE4COPD 300. The start will mark the Wisconsin native’s 131st career NNS start.
• DOUBLE DUTY… Menard is slated to race full schedules in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series in 2010. This will be Menards first fulltime NNS season since 2006.
• MENARD IN THE NATIONWIDE SERIES… Menard made his first NNS start in 2003, since then he has made 130 starts and secured two poles, one win, 15 top-five and 41 top-10 finishes. Menard has led 368 laps of Nationwide Series competition – all while running full series schedules (2005 and 2006).
• MENARD AT DAYTONA… In six NNS starts at the 2.5-mile Florida track, Menard has achieved one top-10 finish. His best start at DIS is second and his best finish is sixth place, both achieved in July of 2005.
• LAPS… Menard has completed 565 of 687 (82.2%) of the laps he has attempted in NNS competition at Daytona and has led 48 laps.
• ON THE TRACK…The No. 98 team will unload the Richmond/Menard’s Ford Fusion for this weekend’s DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona.
• REWIND, 2009 NATIONWIDE RESULTS… In his limited 2009 NNS schedule, Menard made 16 starts. He notched one top-five and four top-10 finishes.
• MENARDS ON THE TRACK… In addition to their partnership with Roush Fenway Racing and the No. 98 Ford Fusion NASCAR Nationwide Series team, Menards is also affiliated with the racing ventures: Robby Gordon, Matt Crafton, Ed Carpenter and Frank Kimmel, as well as the No. 98 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Fusion entry in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
• Your Official Home Super Center for the 21st Century!®… Menards is well-known throughout the Midwest for its complete selection of high-quality, name brand merchandise, tools for any job, and state-of-the-art in-store computers to help guests design their special projects. Menards carries the materials and tools for all of your home improvement projects from just needing a light bulb to building a new house! Plus, many Menards stores also carry name brand appliances, pet products, lawn and garden supplies, and even groceries as your one-stop shopping experience. As always, Menards is known for its excellent guest service and the place to “Save Big Money.” There is something for everyone at Menards from the beginning do-it-yourselfer to the experienced contractor. www.menards.com

QUOTES
Paul Menard on the 2010 Nationwide Series season:
“I am really looking forward to this season and racing fulltime in both the Cup and Nationwide Series. Last year I ran 16 Nationwide races and we had some decent runs. I think with some consistency – running every weekend and establishing good communication with my team, we should be weekly contenders.

“I’m also eager to work with my teammates at Roush Fenway. Those guys run well and with their support and the support from Ford, I feel like this year has the potential to be great.”

Crew chief Matt Puccia on racing at Daytona International Speedway:
“The first race of the season is always exciting…and stressful. We’ve worked all winter to build cars and put together this team and Saturday is the day we’ll see our work hopefully pay off. Paul is a solid race car driver and able to compete with the best of the best. I know if we give him a fast, good-handling Ford, he’ll get it to the front.”

STATS

MENARD’S NNS RESULTS AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
Race Start Finish Laps Status
2004 – Hershey’s Kiss 300 12 32 74/120 Running
2005 – Hershey’s Take 5 300 4 17 120/120 Running
2005 – Winn-Dixie 250 2 6 104/104 Running
2006 – Hershey’s Kissables 300 14 38 78/120 Running
2006 – Winn-Dixie 250 2 27 69/103 Accident
2007 – Orbitz 12 17 120/120 Running

Starts
Laps
6 565 of 687 (82.2%)
Average Start Laps Led
7.7 48
Average Finish
24.5

MENARD’S 2009 NNS RESULTS…
Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Laps Laps Led Avg. St. Avg. Fn. Rank
16 0 0 1 2745 0 14.1 15.6 25