CUP: Menard To Drive Fourth RCR Car In '11

Sprint Cup

CUP: Menard To Drive Fourth RCR Car In ‘11

Paul Menard will compete for Richard Childress Racing next year, bringing his Menards sponsorship along with him...

Mike Hembree | Posted August 11, 2010 Charlotte, NC

Paul Menard is moving to Richard Childress Racing next season. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Driver Paul Menard and his sponsorship dollars are moving from Richard Petty Motorsports to Richard Childress Racing for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

RCR will return to a four-car operation next year after running three cars – those of Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer – this season. The official announcement was made Wednesday.

Menard’s RCR Chevrolet – no car number was announced – will be sponsored by his family’s Wisconsin-based Menards home improvement store chain.

"Paul has developed into a very good race car driver, and we see his move to RCR next year as an opportunity for him to continue that progress," said team owner Richard Childress. "At the same time, we feel Paul will contribute to the continued progress and success of RCR. Paul will fit in perfectly with our team of drivers at RCR, and they are all looking forward to working with him. We're also very proud to be aligned with Menards, one of the great family business success stories in American history."

Menard is winless in his fourth full season of Sprint Cup racing. He is 23rd in Sprint Cup points entering Sunday’s race at Michigan.

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He ran the Nationwide Series full time from 2004 to 2006 and is driving in both the Nationwide and Cup series full time this season.

"Richard Childress Racing has shown this year that they're headed on the right track," Menard said. "Having three cars competing for the Chase and, ultimately, the championship is no small feat and they're on top of their game. With that in mind, and having known Richard for the past 10 years or so, when this opportunity to join RCR came about it was a no-brainer.”

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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Mike Hembree

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