Menard Rides Wave of Consistency to Top-10 Position

Paul Menard never was much of a threat to win last Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but his 5th-place finish left the driver of the No. 98 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford as the most surprising entrant into the top 10 in the Sprint Cup point standings.

Thanks to a crafty call by Menard's crew chief, Richard "Slugger" Labbe, to go with a two-tire pit stop during the final stops of the Atlanta race, Menard lined up on the front row for the second-to-last restart. His two tires quickly showed to be a disadvantage to the drivers who had taken four, but a quick crash in turn four not only helped equalize the tire situation, but also eliminated some contenders who could have taken spots from Menard.

After the final restart, Menard held on to his fifth-place position -- the second best finish of his career -- and jumped from 17th to 9th in the Sprint Cup standings.

"Slugger made a helluva call there taking two tires at the end to get some clean track and we knew we probably weren't going to hold off four tires, but it at least got us in front of the excitement and I guess there was some at the end," Menard said. "We dodged a bullet there at the end with all the action out there."

For Menard, whose best career finish was a second-place run during the wild finale of the 2008 fall race at Talladega, the difference between this year and last in terms of performance is remarkable.

Sure, it's been just four races, but at this point last year Menard had yet to crack the top-25 and had failed to finish two of the four. It was a record that gave credence to Tony Stewart's comments that Menard really didn't have talent, but instead was racing only thanks to his billionaire father's financial means.

"You can have your father buy your ride and write DEI a big check, but you can't buy talent," said Stewart after controversy between the two in 2007. "And that's what John Menard's been good at his whole life, is just buying success. He's bought his son a Nextel Cup ride and he's just got enough talent to just be in the way most of the time. "

Menard's father owns Menard's -- a large chain of home improvement stores in the midwest -- that is the primary sponsor on Paul's No. 98 Ford.

The fact that 2010 has been so dramatically different than 2009 is reflected not so much by Menard's best finishes, but the fact that his worst finish thus far is no worse than 18th, which is where he ended up at California, though on the lead lap.

Menard has completed 100 percent (1066) of all laps contested in the Sprint Cup Series this season. A year ago after four races? Menard had already failed to finish 64 laps and was posting an average finis of 34th, compared to 13th this year.

Few would have taken this best, but Menard currently is actually outpacing his new teammates at Richard Petty Motorsports -- guys with names like Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and A.J. Allmendinger -- in the point standings. Kahne, 17th in the standings, is his closest teammate, though the difference is just a mere 58 points.

Menard joined the RPM stable after his team from a year ago, a fellow Ford outfit in Yates Racing, was essentially purchased by RPM. The dividends for Menard already seem to be playing off, though he needs not be reminded that four races make up a small percentage of a grueling 36-race schedule.

Is Menard a legitimate contender to wrap up 2010 in the top 20 in the point standings? His previous results certainly don't indicate that -- his best points standing ranking, in 2008, was 26th.

But 2010 has started off in a much more consistent way for Menard than any of the previous seasons and if he can maintain a solid pace with his teammates, the Wisconsin driver might just be on the right track toward burying Stewart's accusations.