With Truex signed, Menard's contract next DEI priority

By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Paul Menard

Drew Hallowell
Getty Images for NASCAR

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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Emerging from their Dale Earnhardt Inc. team meeting Saturday afternoon, Martin Truex Jr. and Paul Menard shared a laugh in the Watkins Glen International garage.

As Menard prepared to talk to a reporter, Truex walked away before turning and shouting, “Hey, Paul, have you signed your contract yet?”

Truex laughed because the question wasn’t being asked of him as it had been for the last several months before he signed a one-year contract extension with DEI Aug. 6.

So where is Menard in terms of his contract status with the organization beyond this season? Asked about a timetable, Menard indicated talks are under way.

“Soon. In a couple of weeks,” Menard said of a decision. “We were not waiting on anybody [to decide]. We’ve just got to make sure everything is right before we do anything.”

Menard carries the family company sponsorship and can take that to any team willing to field cars for him. While he insisted that he wasn’t waiting on Truex to make a decision, he did say that was important for DEI as a whole.

“It helps the whole organization so I was happy to see that,” Menard said. “It gives us some stability and now we can go forward with some plans for next year.”

DEI Vice President of Motorsports John Story said Friday that he hopes to get Menard signed soon.

“We’re working really hard on it,” Story said. “It’s not signed, but I think it’s real close.”

Menard is happy with crew chief Doug Randolph as they share low-key personalities. He said he sees potential in the organization. He finished 34th in points last year, missing six races while outside the top 35 before the team was bought Ginn Racing and a shift in team points allowed him to be guaranteed a spot in races. This season, he's been locked into the field consistently. He enters today's Centurion Boat at The Glen at Watkins Glen 28th in points.

“There’s always room for improvement,” Menard said. “We haven’t had the runs that we’ve wanted. We’ve had good runs. We haven’t been able to capitalize on them. The tools are there, we just have to make use of them.”

With Menard, DEI hopes to still have a four-car operation next season. Story indicated Friday that the team has sponsorship for Aric Almirola in the No. 8 car. The team is currently sponsored by the U.S. Army, which does only one-year deals. Almirola, sharing the ride this season with Mark Martin, takes over driving duties full time next year.

“We have nothing to announce on the 8… there’s still some available inventory on the 8 but, by and large, it’s a funded program,” Story said Friday when asked whether the U.S. Army was coming back with Almirola. “The 1 is settled [with Truex]. The 15 is good [with Menard].

“We’re talking to a lot of people about the 01 [currently driven by Regan Smith]. The fact of the matter is now that Martin has settled his position for next year, our sponsorship talks are accelerating quickly because there are a lot of people that have a lot of interest in DEI but they wanted to take a wait-and-see attitude as well.”