Paul Menard Gears Up For Competition at Chicagoland

NASCAR XFINITY Series – Furious 7 300
September 19, 2015 –  Chicagoland Speedway – Joliet, Ill.

Paul Menard will pilot chassis No. 167 in the Furious 7 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. Menard drove this Richard Childress Racing-prepared Chevrolet to a fourth-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.

The Eau Claire, Wis., native driver has nine previous NASCAR XFINITY Series starts at Chicagoland Speedway. Menard is credited with one top-five and four top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile oval, coupled with a 14.2 average starting position and a 15.7 average finishing position.

Austin Dillon started the 250-lap main event from the eighth position and remained a fixture in the top 10 through the course of the race. Shortly after taking the green flag, the RCR driver reported to crew chief Danny Stockman he was too tight. The 25-year-old driver continued to battle handling issues for most of the remaining laps and finished ninth.

Along with his duties driving the No. 33 Richmond/Menards Chevrolet on Saturday, Menard will pilot the No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet in the MyAFibRisk.com 400 on Sunday, September 20. Coverage of the 400-mile race begins at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on NBC Sports Network and the Motor Racing Network.

This weekend’s Furious 7 300 marks Menard’s final XFINITY Series race for the 2015 season. To date, Menard has been entered in seven events this year earning one victory, two top-five and five top-10 finishes. Menard is credited with 24 laps led, coupled with a 7.0 average starting position and a 9.9 average finishing position.

So far this season, the No. 33 team has accumulated some impressive stats with Menard, Austin Dillon and Brandon Jones behind the wheel. In 25 races, the RCR team has garnered four wins, five pole awards, 12 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes with 437 laps led.

Following this weekend’s 200-lap affair, Brandon Jones will return to the driver’s seat of the No. 33 Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway for the September 26 event. This event will mark Jones’ final race in the RCR machine for the 2015 season.

How does Chicagoland Speedway race?
Chicago is one of the older surfaces we go to, which lends itself to being wide. You can run all over the track depending on where your tires are and what part of the fuel run you are in. It’s similar to Atlanta or Texas where you can start searching to try and find grip, which is what drivers like. It’s got some character to it, the backstretch is curved and there are a lot of bumps throughout the corners, which keep getting worse with weather and age. So there’s a lot of character at this track. – Paul Menard

Radio & TV

Coverage of this weekend’s XFINITY Series event at Chicagoland Speedway will be televised live on Saturday, September 19, beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern Time on NBC Sports Network. It will also be broadcast live on Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM channel 90.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Results of Chicagoland Speedway

• Starts: 9
• Wins: 0
• Poles: 0
• Top 5: 1
• Top 10: 4
• Starting: 14.2
• Finishing: 15.7