Paul Menard Finishes 13th at Sonoma Raceway

NASCAR Sprint Series – Sonoma 350
June 28, 2015 –  Sonoma Raceway – Sonoma, Ca.

Paul Menard finished 13th on Sunday afternoon in the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series road-course event of 2015. The Wisconsin native qualified 32nd but moved to the rear of the 43-car field after an engine change during Friday’s practice sessions. Menard noted a decent handling condition throughout the 110-lap race in Sonoma, Calif. Crew chief Justin Alexander had a pit strategy plan and called Menard to pit road on lap 13 for four tires and fuel. This put Menard in line for a seventh-place restart after the caution was displayed on lap 21. Staying on the same off-sequence green-flag pit strategy, Menard visited pit road three additional times for four tires and fuel. The Richard Childress Racing driver raced his way into the top 15, gaining 30 spots to finish 13th. This finish marks Menard’s 11th top-15 finish of 2015 and places him 12th in the driver point standings. Up next for the No. 27 team is the night race at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, July 5.

We fought hard today. It’s not what we wanted, but to start in the back and make the gains we did equals a good day. I’m proud of my guys for fighting all day and appreciate the work they did to make the Richmond/Menards Chevy fast today. – Paul Menard

Start – 32, Finish – 13, Laps Led – 0, Owner’s Points – 12