.In preparation for his first Busch Series race this weekend at the Nashville Speedway, Andy Petree Racing driver Paul Menard has been working diligently behind the scenes on his summer NASCAR program. He has been working out every morning with his boss Andy Petree, touching and feeling the cars in the shop and using video games to become even more acquainted with the tracks. Menard will be making his third start of the 2003 season in his summer-long ABCT schedule. Two weeks ago at Charlotte, Menard raced in the ARCA series event mounting a serious charge to the front late in the race before motor problems forced him to retire. It was Menard’s first race on a 1.5 mile track. One of Petree’s goals this summer for Menard, aside from winning, is to give him the experience he needs on different tracks and to keep him racing constantly. Nashville, which is Menard’s first Busch Series event, should be a good test. With a background in NASCAR’s Touring Series cars, Menard has been racing on ovals for over three years now with good success. He was a winner in each of the last two years and finished seventh in the ReMax Touring Series points in 2002 capturing two poles in the process. While Nashville is a bigger, faster track than those he is used to, Menard had a good test at the track last month and adapted well to the high banks and high speed of Charlotte. Menard will be driving #55 Turtle Wax Chevy in this weekend’s Trace Adkins Chrome 300.(Menards Racing PR)(6-5-2003)
