Years ago, as a garage rat at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Paul Menard dreamed of winning a race at the vaunted Brickyard.
On Sunday, the dream came true. In a season full of improbable first-time winners in NASCAR’s foremost races, Menard, 30, stretched his fuel mileage and held off a charging Jeff Gordon to win Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at the 2.5-mile track.
The victory was Menard’s first as a Sprint Cup driver, and it catapulted him into the conversation for a wild-card berth in the Chase. Gordon, who closed rapidly in the final five laps, crossed the finish line .725 seconds behind the season’s fourth first-time winner.
Regan Smith, who notched his first career victory in the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington in May, came home third, followed by Jamie McMurray, last year’s Brickyard winner. Matt Kenseth ran fifth, and Tony Stewart salvaged a sixth-place result despite a litany of problems throughout the race.
Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch completed the top 10. NASCAR.com
After crossing the bricks for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup win, Menard radioed the message to his father John, “Dad, this one is for you.”
“Man, I’ve been coming here for a long, long time, but not nearly as long as my dad,” Paul Menard said. “To be the first one after all those years of him trying to win a race at Indy, (it’s) very special.”
Paul Menard’s first trip to the Brickyard was in his father’s arms. John joked that when Paul was a youngster the family had to keep him quiet so the “yellow shirts (IMS security staff) didn’t throw him out.”
“Paul’s been coming here since we carried him in at 3 years old,” John Menard said. “I remember sneaking him into the garage in an engine box because he was too young to be in here. All his life he wanted to race.
“He’s such a good boy. He’s a good young man. He’s persevered through it all and for the family, for him, for everybody it’s unbelievable.” FOXSports.com
Gordon said he could tell Menard was holding nothing back as the laps wound down at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis track.
“Paul had saved enough [fuel] to where he could go back to a full pace,” Gordon said. “There at the end, I couldn’t have passed him.”
Gordon also said Menard’s victory was “not a fluke.”
“They took a big risk” by not pitting for fuel “but they had to beat a lot of other guys that were trying to save fuel,” Gordon said. Los Angeles Times
A guy like Paul, who grew up here and his family came here every year for the 500, I don’t think anybody could appreciate this win more than him,” Gordon said. “Especially for his first win. That’s pretty special.”
“To win today was unbelievable for the Menard family,” team owner Richard Childress said. “He had a dream and today his dream came true.”
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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis - Race Results
Interview With Brickyard 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Winner - Paul Menard
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