LAT PHOTOGRAPHICPaul Menard, his family and crew celebrate winning the Brickyard 400 on Sunday by kissing the yard of bricks at the start/finish line.
By: Al Pearce on 7/31/2011
Paul Menard on Sunday claimed his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win by hanging on as the onrushing Jeff Gordon fell just short in the final laps of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After making up a 12-second deficit in the final 13 laps, Gordon was several car-lengths behind Menard at the end of the 160-lap, 400-mile race.
The win was emotional for Menard whose father, John, is a longtime, well-known and well-respected supporter of racing in the Midwest. Paul Menard grew up spending much of every May at the Speedway, where Menard-sponsored cars fared well often but never won the Indianapolis 500. Father and son enjoyed an emotional embrace in vctory lane after the driver's first Cup Series win in 167 career starts, dating to 2003.
“I just can't believe this,” Paul Menard said, looking in wonder around Victory Lane. “There's a lot of emotion right now because as a kid, I always dreamed about winning here. The family's been coming here for 35 years, so this is big for them--for all of us, really because Indy is such a special place. I knew Jeff was coming, but being in front and having clean air was great. And, too, I was getting great fuel mileage.”
Menard led four times for 21 of the 160 laps, including the final four. He led lap 82 as pit stops cycled through, then led laps 96-104. Toward the end, he led laps 145-151 before letting Jamie McMurray by to lead laps 152-156. Once crew chief Slugger Labbe gave the fuel-conscious Menard the “go for it” call, he passed McMurray easily and drove away to the finish. Given another lap or two, Gordon would have had his fifth Brickyard 400 win, but it was not his day.
Menard crossed the line ahead of fellow top-10 finishers Gordon, Regan Smith, McMurray, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. Points leader Carl Edwards was 14th and pole winner David Ragan 23rd.
It was another disappointing finish for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who led a few laps but finished 16th to slip to 10th in points.
Other than the final 15 laps--with suspense building regarding who had enough fuel to make it to the finish--the race was far from memorable. Menard restarted 14th after the final caution on lap 127 and inherited the lead on lap 145 when Stewart made his final stop. Most of the front-runners made green-flag stops in the final 20 laps to ensure that they could finish. Menard was close on fuel but saved enough to make it to the finish while many others made late-race stops.
Thirteen drivers swapped the lead 22 times but less than half of them--Kasey Kahne (48 laps), Gordon (36), Menard (21), Keselowski (17) and Matt Kenseth and Stewart (10 each)--reached double figures in laps led. Earnhardt, McMurray, Clint Bowyer, Ragan, Dave Blaney, Jimmie Johnson and Landon Cassill shared the other 18 lead laps.
RESULTS
1. Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 160 laps at 140.762 mph avg. speed; 2. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 160; 3. Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 160; 4. Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 160; 5. Matt Kenseth, Ford, 160; 6. Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 160; 7. Greg Biffle Ford, 160; 8. Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 160; 9. Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 160; 10. Kyle Busch, Toyota, 160;
11. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 160; 12. Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 160; 13. Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 160; 14. Carl Edwards, Ford, 160; 15. Brian Vickers, Toyota, 160; 16. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 160; 17. Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 160; 18. Kasey Kahne, Toyota, 160; 19. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 160; 20. Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 160;
21. Kurt Busch, Dodge, 160; 22. A. J. Allmendinger, Ford, 160; 23. David Ragan, Ford, 160; 24. Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 160; 25. Joey Logano, Toyota, 160; 26. Andy Lally, Chevrolet, 160; 27. Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 160; 28. Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 160; 29. Casey Mears, Toyota, 160; 30. Trevor Bayne, Ford, 160;
31. Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 160; 32. Mike Bliss, Ford, 159; 33. David Gilliland, Ford, 157; 34. Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 157; 35. Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 152 (engine); 36. David Reutimann, Toyota, 49 (crash); 37. Michael McDowell, Toyota, 23 (electrical); 38. Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 19 (overheating); 39. Scott Speed, Ford, 19 (rear gear); 40. Mike Skinner, Toyota, 16 (electrical);
41. Terry Labonte, Ford, 15 (transmission); 42. T. J. Bell, Ford, 10 (brakes); 43. Robby Gordon, Dodge, 5 (engine)
TIME OF RACE: 2h 50m 30s
WINNER'S AVG. SPEED: 140.762 mph
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.725s
FAST QUALIFIER: Ragan, 49.182s, (182.994 mph)
PROVISIONALS: T. Labonte
DID NOT QUALIFY: David Stremme, J.J. Yeley, Scott Winner, Travis Kvapil, Erik Darnell
STARTED AT REAR: Hamlin (engine change), Truex (transmission change)
LEAD CHANGES: 22 among 13 drivers
CAUTION PERIODS: Four for 21 laps
PURSE: $9,071,034; winner's share $373,575
POINTS LEADERS: 1. Edwards, 682; 2. Johnson, -11; 3. Harvick, -12; 4. (tie) Kyle Busch, Kenseth, -16; 6. Kurt Busch, -18; 7. J. Gordon, -52; 8. Newman, -64; 9. Stewart, -73; 10. Earnhardt, -76
CHASE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP WILD-CARD CANDIDATES: Hamlin (11th in points, with one win), Menard (14th, with one win)
NEXT: Pocono, Pa., Aug. 7 (1 p.m. Eastern, ESPN)
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