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The math, however, simply didn't work out. And this guy's pretty good at math, as his day job happens to be the Chief Operation Officer of the Menards home improvement store chain.
Menard, the reigning Late Model track champion at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway and Midwest Regional champion, reconsidered running more than the 10 to 12 races he had originally intended to run this summer at the West Salem track.
NASCAR reduced the number of races to qualify for a regional championship from 18 to 16, and Menard briefly considered juggling his schedule in order to run 16 of the 22 regular-season races at the Fair-grounds Speedway.
"Sure there was (some thought) when NASCAR put the requirement down from 18 to 16. We looked at our schedule, and there were not enough (dates) to hit 16 races," Menard said. "Even if there would have been (enough dates), we wouldn't be able to throw any (bad) races out. The other guys could have thrown six races out."
Drivers running for a regional championship only submit their top 16 performances.
In other words, Menard's plan to run the Wisconsin Challenge Series, the MARS series and some ASA Late Model races at Madison, Hawkeye Downs (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), West Salem and Illiana Speedway (Schererville, Ind.), in addition to about a dozen races at the Fairgrounds Speedway this summer still stands.
So those speculating whether Menard is racing full-time at the Fairgrounds Speedway this summer can discount that rumor.
"I love racing, but you miss out on a lot of personal life when you're racing every week (for points)," Menard said. "I'm looking forward to bouncing around and even taking a vacation this summer, which is something I haven't been able to do the past couple of summers."
Menard said his spring, summer and fall race schedule currently consists of 38 races. He has been busy this winter, too, as he won the 200-lap Speedfest event at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Fla., on Jan. 29.
"It was 200 laps, $10,000 to win," Menard said. "There were 60-75 cars there, and the top three were northern drivers. That didn't sit very well."
Menard said he still has the same race team as last year, which includes Brian "Toby" Nuttleman as his crew chief. The duo formed a formidable team in 2004 as they won six regular-season races at the Fairgrounds Speedway, then had a red-hot Oktoberfest as they won all three feature races they entered.
"We've never really been boastful. We did, maybe, open some people's eyes and quietly snuck up on them," Menard said. "I think we've got a pretty good race team, In my opinion, one of the best race teams in Wisconsin."
Menard plans to be at the Fairgrounds Speedway on Saturday for the first official practice of the season, and intends to to run in the season opener on April 9.
Jeff Brown can be reached at (608) 782-9710, ext. 403, or at jbrown@lacrossetribune.com
