Menard Wins at Indy, Captures Brickyard 400
Late-Race Fuel Strategy Propels Menard to his 1st Sprint Cup Series Victory
07.31.11 - Forget that Jeff Gordon was the fastest car during the race, Forget that Paul Menard had never won a Sprint Cup Series event in 166 attempts, Forget that his dad, John Menard has been trying to win at indy for 35 years, remember that in this day and age of NASCAR racing, that the difference between winning and losing is about fuel mileage, fuel mileage, fuel mileage.
Menard and his RCR team played it brilliantly, as crew chief Slugger Labbe had Menard give the lead up to defending race winner Jamie McMurray in an effort to save fuel. They believed McMurray didn’t have enough fuel to finish the race. Labbe then turned his attention to Jeff Gordon, who fell way behind after a late fuel stop but was blazing his way through the field.
The first half of the race was dominated by drivers with the strongest cars. But when debris cautions jumbled up the pit cycles, the Brickyard 400 turned into a race of pure strategy.
Menard and his Richard Childress Racing team played it brilliantly, as crew chief Slugger Labbe had Menard give the lead up to defending race winner Jamie McMurray in an effort to save fuel. Certain that McMurray didn’t have enough gas to make it to the finish, Labbe then turned his attention to Jeff Gordon, who fell 12 seconds behind after a late fuel stop but was slicing his way through the field.
Labbe gave Menard the green light with just over three laps to go. He passed McMurray for the lead, and was silent as he circled the track with Labbe giving constant updates on Gordon’s lap times. Gordon ran out of time, and Menard cruised to his first career victory in his 167th career start. Menard’s only other victory came in the second-tier Nationwide Series in 2006.
Quiet and reserved by nature, Menard didn’t change as he crossed the finish line. As his team screamed over the radio, Menard quietly asked, “That’s the checkered, right?” Atop the pit box, his billionaire father was far less reserved. “I’ve been waiting to kiss these bricks for such a long time. I’m ready!” John Menard yelled.
Menard’s victory continued the trend of first-time winners this season in NASCAR’s crown-jewel events. Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500, Regan Smith won at Darlington Raceway and David Ragan won earlier this month at Daytona. Gordon settled for second, Smith was third and McMurray fourth as Chevrolets took the top four spots. Matt Kenseth was fifth in a Ford and Tony Stewart, a two-time Brickyard winner, was sixth.
Stewart, who led late but had to stop for gas, once drove for John Menard and was complimentary in defeat. “I’m really happy for Paul Menard,” he said. “Paul’s been around this place for a long time, been here since he was a kid. It couldn’t have happened to a better guy. It’s a pretty deserving win right there. I’m happy for him.”
Greg Biffle was seventh, while Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch rounded out the top 10. For Menard, the win lifted him five spots in the standings to 14th, putting him in contention for a wild card into the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. The final two spots will go to drivers ranked 11th or lower who have the most wins. The two currently in that position? Menard and Denny Hamlin, who is 11th in points.