John Menard, the Wisconsin billionaire who has spent millions trying to win the Indianapolis 500, has set his sights on the crown jewel of stock-car racing, as well. With the aim of reaching the Winston Cup Series and the Daytona 500 within five years, Menard is starting a NASCAR team that will compete with driver Bryan Reffner on the Craftsman Truck Series next season. Menard and Reffner, the 1996 Truck Series rookie of the year from Wisconsin Rapids, have agreed upon a multiple-year contract. Reffner said he could not reveal the terms. Initially, at least, the truck operation will be based in the same shop in Indianapolis as Team Menard of the Indy Racing League, or in a nearby building. Thomas Knapp, the general manager of Menard’s IRL team, will take on a similar role with the NASCAR team. But Reffner, 35, also will wield considerable influence in the management. He was in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, working with a chassis builder and talking to existing teams about purchasing used equipment. In 89 starts, Reffner has five top-five finishes with a best of third (Flemington, N.J., 1998) and about $650,000 in earnings in the series. See the full story at Menard has NASCAR on mind by Dave Kallmann of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
