August 1st, 2011 
Journo Since 1994 the Brickyard 400 has stood apart as one of the premier events on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Winning on the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a dream for most racecar drivers. And on Sunday the track delivered twice giving Paul Menard not just a Brickyard 400 victory, but his first ever Cup Series win (the first ever, first-time winner at the Brickyard).
The last 50 laps of the 400 were some of the more interesting I’ve seen at the track. There were two packs, two ideas and it was really anybody’s race. Eventually it was the kid who spent much of his life around the track watching a different kind of racing, crossing the bricks first. It was hard not to be excited for Menard.
The extraordinary thing about Sunday’s finish was that Menard became the 14th different winner and the fourth different first-time winner of the season. Those aren’t record breaking numbers just yet (19 in 1956 and 2001), but it is, I think, a testament to strength of competition in the sport right now. In addition to those 14, there is a long list of drivers with the means to win who haven’t.
Menard’s win also adds him to the list of drivers competing for the Chase’s two wild card slots. There are currently six different winners outside of the top-10 in points (Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard, David Ragan, Brad Keselowski, Regan Smith and Trevor Bayne – who of course is not eligible for the Chase). Of those six, four are eligible and in the requisite top-20 in the points. Right now it’s Denny Hamlin and Paul Menard who make the cut.
So far, this season has been one to remember. With 16 races left and just six until the start of the Chase, I doubt we’ve seen the end to the 2011 surprises. Stay tuned.
Feel free to use this as your Brickyard and 2011 season sound off post. What did you think about Paul Menard’s first win? How about the parity we’ve seen so far this season? Do you think we can beat the record of 19 different winners? Talk amongst yourselves.
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A Chevy won! WOO HOO!
Congrats to Menard and RCR.
That was an interesting finish for sure! It was looking like Gordon(24) was coming on to catch him there for a bit… that woulda been interesting if he’d a caught him!
I’d pretty much given up on the racing at the Brickyard… didn’t even watch but the last 38 laps or so.
I might have to watch the whole thing next year.
-W
Absolutely thrilled for Paul Menard, Slugger Labbe, the team & Menard family! In terms of stock car families & sponsor groups, to me this is right up there with the Wood Bros Daytona 500 win, to get both of these within one season is just incredible.
I have no problem with many different winners so far this season! Especially when from smaller teams. While domination of a team or 2 looks great to record books & their fans, as long as my drivers get their win or 2 and can stay on top of the points situation, I’d rather see the trophy wealth spread around different teams. But nothing is guaranteed of course, a driver could still go on a hot streak!
I think it’s absolutely fantastic! This is the first of my four full years as a fan that it has been this wide open in the competition and watching Trevor, David, Regan and Paul has had me with tears in my eyes. Especially for Paul.
I didn’t understand why he didn’t get the respect other guys had, after all, the big thing today is bringing your sponsor money with you and Paul’s just happened to be family. New fans don’t buy into all the historical bs I guess! LOL!
Off topic…
Now, I’d love to smack NASCAR upside the head for calling a caution when Kasey was 8 seconds ahead of Jeff Gordon (and the debris was NOT the water bottle Mr. Busch threw out the window!).
The scream you hear that breaks your windows if Kasey wins a race and gets into the wild card race will be me.
Nice win for Menard and the 27 crew. Paul seems humble, especially considering his family means. Made me think back to the Menards INDY 500 entries w/ the Buick stock block, Jim Crawford and Scotty Brayton (RIP).
FWIW, Paul Menard has kinda been hammered here in the past by some TNI bloggers for not being worthy of a Cup ride. His performance yesterday, and this season, should squash some of those feelings. Right?
Not a big surprise to me to see Menard get a win, he’s been good this year under Childress. That team still needs to improve their ability to avoid catastrophe and also adjust on the car to move it up thru the pack, but they have very solid starting position for the year so have some good initial speed.
Very interesting final 20 with two distinct packs on two distinct strategies and very fun to watch! Good to see Gordon so strong since they’ve had their challenges this year despite fast cars. Jeff’s post race interview had to be the most genuine “if I couldn’t win, I’m glad he got it” I’ve heard in a while. Those kinds of statements from any driver usually seem pretty hollow and more about not saying something stupid on tv after not winning, but Gordon had me believing he actually meant it.
Thanks to Menard for making what usually is, and yesterday would have again been, a stinker of a race into a fun to watch finish.
And to have him keep the 24 from winning was even better!
And thanks to ESPN for bringing in Alan Bestwick to lead the announcing crew. He brings knowledge and passion to the broadcast in a way his predecessors at ESPN couldn’t.
Good win for all concerned. It’s nice when other drivers pause amidst sponsor tributes to congratulate the winner.
What happened to my man Burton? He was near the lead in the “other pack” and ended up something like 35th? Montoya (in the same group) finished in the 20s.
Finally, a more gloomy note: it seemed to me that the truck race Friday featured an awful lot of start’n'parks, and this on top of two or three races where they didn’t even field 36 trucks.
I want to criticize ESPN for not keeping viewers up to date towards the end of the race about which drivers had pitted when, which cars were good, which weren’t, and so on. I’m watching the race and I have no real idea as to which cars at the front are good to go the distance, how fast cars in the back (Gordon) are closing and so on.
As a Gordon fan from day 1 I can say my heart was pounding those last 12 laps figuring there was a chance the 24 was going to be a 5 time winner at the Brickyard the way he was coming on. Not to be though, but I can also say that I was not disappointed to see Menard as a first time winner take the checkered flag.Guess exciting finishes don’t have to be side by side.
So, is this what CUP racing has become? The best fuel mileage calculator wins? Slugger was planning this from the start, hoping to steal one and things worked out his way. Good for him.
Whether it’s the tire compounds or the E85 fuel, not sure why. Old school fans are increasingly becoming dissatisfied with these events being determined by who is able to run a calculator faster than a race car.
So when was the last time that every single driver interviewed, with absolutely no exceptions, said congratulations to the winner, he deserved it? Now THAT speaks volumes about the driver and his family.
@Keith_kagee, I am also an old skool fan, but when did using a calculator become a modern phenomenon. The last time I checked, fuel strategies have always been a part of NASCAR racing. I remember many a fuel mileage race over the last 30 years. Maybe its your memory, maybe its the media, but fuel strategy has always played a big part of NASCAR.
Keith_Kagee:
I’ve only been a fan since 2005, but I’ve seen plenty of old races. Even old boring ones (I think people remember the “good ol’ days” because they are most often reminded of the great races and not the many stinkers.)
Anyway, hasn’t fuel strategy always been part of any auto racing? I mean- you have to pit to fuel, a car only holds so much… so there’s an inherent strategy.
The beauty of NASCAR is that the racing is the most important thing- but there are also other exciting elements beyond the pure “go fast, turn left”.
To add to my point about the “good ol’ days”… from Wiki:
————
Many races at North Wilkesboro were exciting, but in the Fall of 1994 Geoff Bodine lapped the field on his way to the checkered flag. The only challenge Bodine received all day was when Rusty Wallace tried to get his lap back on a restart. Wallace pulled a nose out front but after a little bit of beating and banging, Bodine beat Wallace back to the caution after Dale Jarrett spun and hit the wall. Only three other drivers even finished within two laps of the leader that day. The race was the last race ever to finish with the leader lapping the field, and most likely the last, as the Beneficiary Rule allows the first lapped car to regain a lap, developed after a close call in 2003.
————
This happened many times in the years before this. Is that exciting to you?
@ Doug in CA
From what I can tell, the truck race only had 3 trucks out at the end, and 2 of those ran past halfway. Also, there were 36 trucks that started the race at Lucas Oil Raceway.
as for the race:
I saw the end of the Indy race from across the room in a restaurant, so I couldn’t see much other than lots of folks were pitting towards the end (so I could tell it was a fuel mileage race.) I’m not usually a fan of fuel mileage battles, but I’ll reserve an opinion til I actually see/hear how it all went down. I am happy for Mernard, and it’s gotta feel pretty good to get to Victory Lane in 2011 before Home Depot did
Keith, I have to say that I don’t know if this “mileage game” is new or not, but that being said, yes, that is very much what NASCAR is: time your stops, ration your tires, maybe you pit less often and get a better result. These are long races, not sprints. Do you want all races to be 90 miles long, one pit stop? If you’re going to run 400 or 500 miles, the strategy becomes part of the winning formula. I’m not saying that’s good or bad, but it IS the nature of the beast. I, for one, don’t mind it a bit.
Fuel mileage has always been a part of NASCAR racing… well, every kind of racing that has long distances and pit stops.
It’s all part of the game… good handling and horsepower don’t always get it done.
Yay to Bestwick and crew… tho’, I think I’d rather have Ned Jarret in the booth than Dale. hah.
Now for next weeks snoozer at Pocono… I wonder if Tony Stewart found a transmission he can shift for a whole race? HAH!
gO Chevy!!!
-W
Actually, only three or those race winners outside the top 10 met the criteria of being in the top 20. Denny Hamlin, David Ragan, and now Paul Menard are all in the top 20 with a win. Keselowski(21), Smith(26) and Bayne(Nationwide only) are not currently eligible for the Chase wildcard.
Really, the record I’m looking at right now is the modern-era record of 5 first-time winners in a season. I think there’s a good chance that one could fall, if both Allmendinger and Ambrose keep going the way they are.
why does menard still not deserve the criticism? i don’t get it. he’s been above average this season. 14th in points i think. a few top 5s. one win on a fuel mileage gamble. glad he got a win i guess, it’s fun to watch, but the dude wouldn’t be in the sport if he didn’t have his dad’s money. plain and simple. he has had about as much success with decent rides as many other mediocre drivers who have come on gone like casey mears, sam hornish jr, david stremme, JJ yeley, etc etc etc. none of them had huge corporate sponsors in their family so when they didn’t perform in a top quality ride, they got the boot. paul underperforms for THREE DIFFERENT TEAMS, and gets upgraded to an RCR car because RCR wants to add a fourth team and menard has the $$! lol.
i love how amazingly shortsighted people are and how a guy picks up one win and suddenly he is “above all the criticism he’s received” suddenly. if paul wins a few more races, does well in the chase, then makes the chase a few more times? OK, i’ll shut up. until then, he should feel EXTREMELY lucky to have had this opportunity even come up. anyone else i listed above who did what little he did for 3 different teams probably wouldn’t suddenly get a ride in an RCR car.
Why should we continue to break down Menard’s achievement. Even during 2010 Menard showed that he was improving. Over the course of last season he outperformed both Brad Keselowski and David Ragan – drivers with firm non-family sponsorships behind them.
Granted, Menard is unlikely to be the next Petty or Johnson, and it is a fact that his father’s money have kept him in a Cup drive for longer than other drivers had chances, but he is not unique: Casey Mears comes to mind as a driver who also had multiple chances and did that without family sponsorship.
(Not really wanting to dish Mears, but did he really deserve a RCR drive after failing at HMS?)
Finally, who are us to say that Menard is not extremely grateful for the possible $100m his father has paid to have him play race driver?
So Jon, answer me this. Is Menard’s performance on Sunday and in 2011 worthy of praise? IMO sure!
Is David Reagan’s performance at Daytona worthy of praise? You bet!
Was Regan Smith’s Darlington win impressive and worthy of a shout out? Absolutely!
And do you consider Trevor Bayne’s triumph at the 500 an accomplishment? Duh!
All of these 2011 first time winners have just that, one win each. But to criticize any of these guys for accomplishing what some drivers never achieve is kind of lame. On top of that, you rarely hear complaints (if any) that any of these drivers knock guys out of the way to get there.
Does the Menard family have a lot of money? Sure! But if you know any of the history of their passion for racing (especially Indy) you would appreciate the effort.
The funny thing that stood out to me was the post-race interview w/ Richard Childress. RC said he saw something in Paul and that is why he “hired him”. I kinda think of it the other way around and see Menard as having “hired” RCR. I am sure the 4th car and crew exist because of Paul and John Menard. Good for them!
@Jon, WTH are you talking about???? I dont know if you realize this, but 99% of the drivers had rich parents… large business owner, toip lawyers, doctors etc. Look at Dale Jr, up until the last 5 or 6 years, he was the shiz… one of the top 5 NASCAR drivers.
Paul has a rich dad (just like every other driver) but his dad owns teams and doesnt mind giving his money out (see Robby Gordon).
Now I agree with you, one win dont mean much (especially a fuel mileage race), and only time will tell, but, he doesnt have the stock car experience other guys have.
The racing sucks now, more than ever. With the exception of Gordon any top 20 car out front would stay there. No passing. Happy for Menard since he seems to be a good guy. Gas mileage races are getting boring. I think bigger tanks and softer tires would help remove the MPG race winners.
come talk to me in 2 years when paul still has one win, maybe one chase berth, and is on his 6th ride. quit acting like his one win vindicates him. that’s my point. he has a lot more to do before he can be considered a great driver in nascar.
@jon, who said he was a great driver?