Motorsports.com is reporting that Dale Earnhardt Incorporated racing is set to announce the joining of Paul Menard [current driver of the #33 APR Chevy] to the DEI stable of drivers. Menard will run a yet unannounced numbered car with a Menard Home Improvement stores sponsorship. The sponsorship is stouter than the money deal with NAPA Auto Parts, and for five years. Menard will run three years of Busch and two years of Cup under the new contract. The team’s first Busch event is set to be New Hampshire International Speedway.(from Motorsports.com)(6-6-2004)
UPDATE: You know more than I do,” was all Menard would tell BGNRacing.com of the rumor regarding his racing future. A team representative for Chance2 said he had not been informed of any plans regarding Menard and was unsure of a possible new DEI entry into Busch.(6-6-2004)
AND hearing that Chance 2 [Dale Earnhardt Jr./Tersa Earnahrdt’s Busch team] has signed Busch north standout Ryan Moore, for seven Busch Series races in 2005, and full time in 2006.(6-5-2004)
UPDATE 2: hearing the deal was signed on Friday, June 4th, a 5-year deal, it would be a DEI deal, not Chance2 and would be the #1 DEI team [for Cup] with the first few years in the Busch Series.(6-7-2004)
UPDATE 3: been told that Paul Menard and Andy Petree Racing have parted ways.
UPDATE 3a: BGNRacing.com is reporting that beginning at New Hamshire International Speedway, Menard will be driving a Busch Series DEI entry for the remainder of the year.(6-9-2004)
UPDATE 4: The three-year racing plan between Wisconsin native Paul Menard and Hendersonville’s Andy Petree was abruptly cut to just five months on Tuesday when Menard announced that he was bolting from Andy Petree Racing [APR] immediately to race for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., leaving APR without a driver, a major sponsor or a clear future midway through the 2004 Busch Series season. Menard signed a three-year deal with APR last fall that had him running two years at the Busch level with Petree with the option of moving up to the Nextel Cup ranks in the third year of the contract. But a five-year offer from DEI was too good to pass up, and Menard broke the news on Tuesday that he was leaving for good and taking his sponsorship with him. Attempts to contact Menard, who has been living in Asheville [NC], were unsuccessful. His telephone number has been disconnected. It was devastating news for APR, which has been struggling to find sponsorship dollars ever since the end of the 2002 season, its final year at NASCAR’s premier level. Lack of money forced Petree, who at one time consistently ran two cars in the Nextel Cup series, to drop full-time into the Busch circuit this year while cutting his staff from more than 100 to around 30 [actuall it was 32]. Now, APR general manager Steve Barkdoll says, Petree will again have to sharply cut his workforce. But Barkdoll insisted Thursday that APR was not shutting its doors and planned to try to run at least two more Craftsman Truck Series races this year. “We went from about 30 employees down to 10 unfortunately,” Barkdoll said. “But we’re not giving up. We still have some truck races to run with (our sponsor) Monaco, and we are going to keep trying to put together some sponsorship deals in the future.” With Menard, Petree thought his money woes were over for a while. The talented young driver from Eau Claire, Wis., had brought some major sponsorship dollars to APR in the form of Menards, a company owned by his father, John. When Petree had two cars racing at the Nextel Cup level three years ago, he had as many as 110 employees working at the shop located off Upward Road in East Flat Rock. He was hoping to get back to NASCAR’s top level some day, and he believed that Paul Menard was his ticket. But the results with Petree weren’t what the young Menard was hoping for in his first full year at the Busch Series level in 2004. In 14 races so far this season, Menard hasn’t had a top 10, with a 13th-place showing on May 23 in Nazareth, Penn., representing his best showing. Menard finished 21st at last weekend’s MBNA 200 in Dover, Del., to stay 22nd in the points standings. Menard is one of 22 drivers to have started all 14 Busch races this year, though he’s ahead of only two in the points standings. Still, among Busch rookies only leader Kyle Busch has more points, and Menard won APR $284,830 this year. The split was a friendly one, Barkdoll said. “We understand his decision. Paul was in the shop on Wednesday talking to everyone, and it really wasn’t a bad deal. We wish him the best of luck,” Barkdoll said. Barkdoll said Petree hasn’t said much following the announcement and still hasn’t released an official statement about Menard’s decision. Petree was unavailable for comment on Thursday.(Henderson Times-News)
HOWEVER been told by sources with the team, that while 20 of 32 employees have been laid off, the shop is still open and will run a few truck races in 2004 while regrouping.(6-11-2004)
UPDATE – OFFICIAL: Menards Super Home Centers and Dale Earnhardt, Inc., (DEI) have joined forces in the NASCAR Busch
Series to run rookie driver Paul Menard in 2004 and 2005 as part of a long-term agreement announced today. The 23-year-old Menard, who has driven in 20 Busch Series events the past two seasons, will assume the role of driver of the #11 Menards Chevrolet as part of the DEI stable of drivers and teams beginning with the New England 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway July 24. He will continue in the Busch Series through the 2005 seasons with the intention of moving up to the Nextel Cup Series at a point in time thereafter. In addition to six Busch Series races in 2003, Menard also competed in a mixed bag of Nextel Cup, NASCAR Truck Series and ARCA series events, which featured an ARCA victory at Talladega last September and an ARCA pole at Winchester, Ind., in August. “Dale Earnhardt, Inc., has a long history of partnering with companies that share the same commitment as we do when it comes to motorsports and winning championships,” said Teresa Earnhardt, president and CEO of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. “John Menard and his organization share that passion, which is one of the reasons we have re-entered the NASCAR Busch Series with Paul as our driver. We have both won championships in motorsports and look to continue that winning tradition.” The collaboration of Menards, the largest home improvement chain in the Midwest, with the tremendous racing resources at DEI is something president John Menard hopes will yield the ultimate results both on the racetrack and in the ongoing efforts to drive traffic into Menards stores. The #11 Menards Chevrolet features a family of associate sponsors that include Pittsburgh Paints, Energizer Batteries, Turtle Wax Car Care
Products, Moen Faucets, Peak Antifreeze, Quaker State, Morton Salt and Empire Levels.(Menard Racing PR)(6-24-2004)
