Paul Menard earned his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup victory Sunday, July 31 in the Brickyard 400 presented by Big Machine Records.com, surprising the field with a strategic fuel gamble and delivering long-sought glory to his family at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Menard held off the late charge of four-time Brickyard winner Jeff Gordon to win by .725 of a second in the No. 27 Nibco/Menards Chevrolet. Menard averaged 140.762 mph. It was the ninth consecutive Brickyard 400 victory for Chevrolet, dating back to 2003.
Menard’s father, John Menard, entered cars in the Indianapolis 500 in 1982 and 1984 and from 1990-2003, never winning “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
“I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid,” Paul Menard said. “My dad has been coming here for 35 years. This is for my dad. A lot of emotions right now.
“I can’t believe we won Indy. This is the greatest racetrack in the world.”
Regan Smith finished third in the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, while 2010 winner Jamie McMurray was fourth in the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet. Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five in the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford.
Pole sitter David Ragan finished 23rd in the No. 6 UPS/Hall Of Fame/Ned Jarrett Ford. He led only one lap. Kasey Kahne dominated the race early, leading the first 47 of the first 51 laps from the second starting spot. He ended up 18th in the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota.
FIN CAR DRIVER MAKE 1 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 2 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 3 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 4 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 5 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 6 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 7 16 Greg Biffle Ford 8 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 9 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 10 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 11 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 12 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 13 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 14 99 Carl Edwards Ford 15 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 16 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 17 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 18 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 19 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 20 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 21 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 22 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 23 6 David Ragan Ford 24 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 25 20 Joey Logano Toyota 26 71 Andy Lally * Ford 27 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 28 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 29 13 Casey Mears Toyota 30 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 31 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 32 32 Mike Bliss Ford 33 34 David Gilliland Ford 34 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 35 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 36 0 David Reutimann Toyota 37 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 38 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 39 37 Scott Speed Ford 40 60 Mike Skinner Toyota 41 223 Terry Labonte Ford 42 150 T.J. Bell * Chevrolet 43 7 Robby Gordon Dodge
| 
|