NASCAR Nationwide Series - Indiana 250
July 27, 2013 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
In his third NASCAR Nationwide Series start of the season, Paul Menard maintained a top-10 running position for the majority of the 250-mile race finishing sixth at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday. Qualifying 10th earlier in the day, Menard slipped back several positions during the early laps as he battled with a tight-handling car on entry and a loose condition through the center and exit. Although his No. 33 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet wasn't quite handling to his liking, Menard was able to work his way back inside the top 10 at lap 22. Crew chief Ernie Cope called for several chassis adjustments on the two ensuing pit stops to remedy the car's handling condition. The adjustments provided relief to the Eau Claire, Wis., native and on lap 58, Menard relayed to the crew that the car was the best it had been all day. Running in eighth when the caution flag flew on lap 85, Menard brought the No. 27 machine onto pit road for fuel and tires, giving him four fresh Goodyear's for the remaining 12 laps of the 100-lap event. Restarting in 10th, Menard never gave up and gained four positions in the final circuits to finish sixth at the historic 2.5-mile speedway.
I love racing at Indy (Indianapolis Motor Speedway). It's one of my favorite race tracks on the circuit. We had a pretty fast Rheem/Menards Chevrolet Camaro, but just ran out of laps at the end preventing us from gaining more positions. Ernie (Cope, crew chief) and the guys did a great job today and I had a lot of fun. Things got a little hairy there at the end on the restart, but we managed to gain some spots. I've still got another race with the No. 33 team in Kansas later in the year and hopefully we can improve on this weekend's sixth-place finish and contend for a win. - Paul Menard
Race Notes
- Started - 10th, Finished, - 6th, Laps led - 0, Points - 13th
- The No. 33 Chevrolet team ranks 13th in the Nationwide Series owner championship point standings.
- Menard ranked fourth in the Closers category, moving up three positions in the final 10 percent of the race.
- RCR Driver Menard spent 100 percent of the laps running in the top 15.
