Menard and the No. 27 Rheem Team Look Forward to the Coke Zero 400

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Coke Zero 400
July 6, 2013 – Daytona International Speedway
Paul Menard, No. 27

Paul Menard will pilot chassis No. 406 at Daytona International Speedway. This No. 27 Chevrolet SS was previously run this season at Talladega Superspeedway and tested at Daytona in January and April earlier this year. Menard has 12 starts at Daytona International Speedway. His best start of first came in 2008 and best finish of sixth came in 2012. The Wisconsin native has completed 2,133 of 2,148 laps attempted (99.3 percent) at the famed superspeedway, leading 38 of them. Starting 13th, Menard was running inside the top 10 when he was involved in a late-race, multi-car incident causing him to finish 14th in last year’s summer event under the lights at Daytona International Speedway.

They repaved Daytona (International Speedway) a couple of years ago and from that point until now, the track has lost a lot of grip. In the Daytona 500, we found that we had to lift during the race to slow the cars up enough to have some grip. When we go back this weekend in the heat of the summer, I think the track will be even more slippery. It’s probably going to come down to how the car handles, a lot like it used to be before the repave. Every time we go back, handling becomes more and more important and I don’t see that changing this weekend. We have already tested our Rheem/Menards Chevrolet twice this season at Daytona, so hopefully we can use what we learned from those tests and apply it this weekend. – Paul Menard

Radio & TV

TNT’s live coverage from Daytona International Speedway begins Saturday, July 6 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The race will also be broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results at Daytona International Speedway

• Starts: 12
• Wins: 0
• Poles: 1
• Top 5: 0
• Top 10: 3
• Laps Led: 38
• Average Start: 22.1
• Average Finish: 17.33