Topic: Paul Menard

Paul Menard (born August 21, 1980) is a NASCAR driver currently competing in the Sprint Cup Series. He currently drives the #27 Menards Chevrolet in both the Sprint Cup for Richard Childress Racing and runs part-time for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the Nationwide Series. He is the son of Menards founder John Menard, Jr., whose company is his sponsor. Menard was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Menard's racing career began at the age of eight when he won the Briggs Junior Karting Class Championship in his native Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He later won the Briggs Medium Class Champion before working his way up to higher level racing. He began ice racing at the age of 15 and won 10 International Ice Racing Association events in his career. He continues to compete in IIRA events in and around Wisconsin.

In 2000, he began racing a limited schedule in the NASCAR Re/Max Challenge Series, finishing 13th in points. During his rookie season in 2001, he earned a pole and victory at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, finishing ninth in points. The 2002 season saw Menard compete in ReMax Challenge (two poles, seventh in points), SCCA Trans-Am (one front-row start, four top-10 finishes), Grand Am Cup (victories at Fontana and Phoenix) and the NASCAR Southwest Tour. He capped his season in the latter series with a last-lap pass of veteran Ken Schrader for the Phoenix victory.