-
Home
- TV Shows
- TV Schedule
- NASCAR
-
Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Games
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
IndyCar
MILLER: History Finally Falls In Menard’s Favor
Decades ago, John Menard began one of the longest, most passionate, expensive and heart-wrenching quests for success in Speedway history.
Paul and John Menard celebrated the family's first victory at Indianapolis after decades of trying. (LAT)
When he first came to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1980, John Menard just blended in with the scenery. He was a quiet, friendly, non-descript fellow from Wisconsin who owned a couple of what we called lumber stores, back then.
Nobody knew anything about him and Menard didn’t appear to be a big hitter since he brought a three-year-old Lightning chassis with an Offy to IMS for rookie Herm Johnson.
A painter by trade, Johnson had done work for the big local businessman, but getting Menard’s attention focused elsewhere was somewhat of a challenge.
“I had sent him sponsorship proposals for two years and he never responded to anything,” recalled Johnson, the 1978 Super Vee champion who, like Menard, lived in Eau Claire, Wis.
“Then, I was painting pinstripes on one of his pickup trucks and got a call from John wanting to know if his truck was ready and how much he owed me. I told him all he owed me was to read one of the proposals I’d been sending the past two years.
“He read it, his wife at the time (Paul Menard’s mother) said ‘that sounds like fun honey’ and one year later we had an Indy car.”
Thus began one of the longest, most passionate, expensive and heart-wrenching quests for success in Speedway history.
From 1980 through 2009, Menard either owned or sponsored cars at the Indianapolis 500.
“Nobody spent any more money or tried harder to win that race than John,” said Johnson.
But this was a sojourn where money couldn’t necessarily buy success.
Despite having deep pockets and some of the best drivers, Team Menard never made it to Victory Lane. As shrewd and savvy as John was in the business world, he was a little too trusting of his race team and often listened to the wrong people when it came to cars, engines, personnel and racing decisions.
His cars were always fast, just not real liable and he also got teased quite a few times at 16th & Georgetown.
Here’s a brief glance at Menard’s Indy experiences:
1982: Made his first Indy start with Johnson, who finished ninth.
1983: Johnson qualified 34th fastest in a Chevy-powered Lightning.
1984: Johnson’s second start resulted in eighth place.
1986: Johnson seriously injured in practice at Indy which ended his career.
1991: Gary Bettenhausen sets quick time in qualifying but it’s on Day 2 so he starts 13th and finishes 22nd.
1992: Al Unser finishes third in Menard’s Lola/Buick.
1994: Eddie Cheever finishes ninth with a Menard engine.
1995: Powered by a Menard V-6, Scott Brayton wins the pole position and teammate Arie Luyendyk starts second and runs seventh.
1996: Brayton again wins the pole but is killed during practice so teammate Tony Stewart inherits the point and leads 13 laps before blowing up.
1997: Stewart qualifies second, leads 64 laps but has to settle for fifth.
1999: Robby Gordon starts fourth and is leading with two laps to go when he has to pit for fuel.
2000: Greg Ray nips Juan Montoya to take the pole and leads 26 laps before crashing.
2001: Ray qualifies in the middle of Row 1 and winds up 17th.
2002: Raul Boesel qualifies third but finishes 21st.
2005: Sponsored Vitor Meira, who ran second.
2008: Sponsored Ed Carpenter, who finished fifth.
Back in his office Wednesday, Menard reflected on the trials and tribulations at Indianapolis and the joy he received from his son’s win at the Brickyard 400.
“In retrospect, we should have backed off a bit and finished races because we always tried to go as fast as possible and we’d break,” he reasoned. “We had some great drivers and came close but my heart is still in open-wheel.
“I just had to make some decisions and support my son.”
Menard closed down his Indianapolis-based team a few years ago to begin sponsoring Paul’s NASCAR career and being a partner in Robby Gordon’s Cup car.
“I didn’t want to own Paul’s team but I certainly didn’t mind helping him,” continued Menard, who tried Jack Roush and DEI for his son before hooking up with Richard Childress. “Richard is a racer and a great guy and he gets Paul equal equipment. That’s all you can ask.”
Since kissing the bricks last Sunday, Menard has been inundated with calls and emails from everyone to Tony Stewart to Danny Ongais to the guy who started it all.
“When John started, he had three stores and now he’s got 260,” said Johnson, referring to Menard’s empire which is valued at $7 billion.
”We showed up at Indy 30 years ago with an open-wheel trailer and our eyes wide open.
“But I felt so happy for him watching the celebration in victory lane and it made me proud.”
To think it happened in July instead of May would be hard to imagine.
“That’s the way life is, you can’t write the script but I’m just proud of Paul and so happy for him because, after Sunday, I think he can drive for anyone,” said Menard.
“I just hope he doesn’t drive for Home Depot or Lowe’s.”
Robin Miller brings 40 years of experience to his role as SPEED.com's senior open-wheel reporter, and serves as a frequent contributor to SPEED Center and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
Nobody knew anything about him and Menard didn’t appear to be a big hitter since he brought a three-year-old Lightning chassis with an Offy to IMS for rookie Herm Johnson.
A painter by trade, Johnson had done work for the big local businessman, but getting Menard’s attention focused elsewhere was somewhat of a challenge.
“I had sent him sponsorship proposals for two years and he never responded to anything,” recalled Johnson, the 1978 Super Vee champion who, like Menard, lived in Eau Claire, Wis.
“Then, I was painting pinstripes on one of his pickup trucks and got a call from John wanting to know if his truck was ready and how much he owed me. I told him all he owed me was to read one of the proposals I’d been sending the past two years.
“He read it, his wife at the time (Paul Menard’s mother) said ‘that sounds like fun honey’ and one year later we had an Indy car.”
Thus began one of the longest, most passionate, expensive and heart-wrenching quests for success in Speedway history.
From 1980 through 2009, Menard either owned or sponsored cars at the Indianapolis 500.
“Nobody spent any more money or tried harder to win that race than John,” said Johnson.
But this was a sojourn where money couldn’t necessarily buy success.
Despite having deep pockets and some of the best drivers, Team Menard never made it to Victory Lane. As shrewd and savvy as John was in the business world, he was a little too trusting of his race team and often listened to the wrong people when it came to cars, engines, personnel and racing decisions.
His cars were always fast, just not real liable and he also got teased quite a few times at 16th & Georgetown.
Here’s a brief glance at Menard’s Indy experiences:
1982: Made his first Indy start with Johnson, who finished ninth.
1983: Johnson qualified 34th fastest in a Chevy-powered Lightning.
1984: Johnson’s second start resulted in eighth place.
1986: Johnson seriously injured in practice at Indy which ended his career.
1991: Gary Bettenhausen sets quick time in qualifying but it’s on Day 2 so he starts 13th and finishes 22nd.
1992: Al Unser finishes third in Menard’s Lola/Buick.
1994: Eddie Cheever finishes ninth with a Menard engine.
1995: Powered by a Menard V-6, Scott Brayton wins the pole position and teammate Arie Luyendyk starts second and runs seventh.
1996: Brayton again wins the pole but is killed during practice so teammate Tony Stewart inherits the point and leads 13 laps before blowing up.
1997: Stewart qualifies second, leads 64 laps but has to settle for fifth.
1999: Robby Gordon starts fourth and is leading with two laps to go when he has to pit for fuel.
2000: Greg Ray nips Juan Montoya to take the pole and leads 26 laps before crashing.
2001: Ray qualifies in the middle of Row 1 and winds up 17th.
2002: Raul Boesel qualifies third but finishes 21st.
2005: Sponsored Vitor Meira, who ran second.
2008: Sponsored Ed Carpenter, who finished fifth.
Back in his office Wednesday, Menard reflected on the trials and tribulations at Indianapolis and the joy he received from his son’s win at the Brickyard 400.
“In retrospect, we should have backed off a bit and finished races because we always tried to go as fast as possible and we’d break,” he reasoned. “We had some great drivers and came close but my heart is still in open-wheel.
“I just had to make some decisions and support my son.”
Menard closed down his Indianapolis-based team a few years ago to begin sponsoring Paul’s NASCAR career and being a partner in Robby Gordon’s Cup car.
“I didn’t want to own Paul’s team but I certainly didn’t mind helping him,” continued Menard, who tried Jack Roush and DEI for his son before hooking up with Richard Childress. “Richard is a racer and a great guy and he gets Paul equal equipment. That’s all you can ask.”
Since kissing the bricks last Sunday, Menard has been inundated with calls and emails from everyone to Tony Stewart to Danny Ongais to the guy who started it all.
“When John started, he had three stores and now he’s got 260,” said Johnson, referring to Menard’s empire which is valued at $7 billion.
”We showed up at Indy 30 years ago with an open-wheel trailer and our eyes wide open.
“But I felt so happy for him watching the celebration in victory lane and it made me proud.”
To think it happened in July instead of May would be hard to imagine.
“That’s the way life is, you can’t write the script but I’m just proud of Paul and so happy for him because, after Sunday, I think he can drive for anyone,” said Menard.
“I just hope he doesn’t drive for Home Depot or Lowe’s.”
Robin Miller brings 40 years of experience to his role as SPEED.com's senior open-wheel reporter, and serves as a frequent contributor to SPEED Center and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
INDYCAR BRAZIL
LATEST HEADLINES: AUTO-RACING
-
VIDEO: Dyson Tech Talk - Tires 101
The art of going fast: what kind of feedback does a driver want from… -
VIDEO: SPEEDing Through Hinchtown, Episode 2
Andretti Autosport IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe utilizes the… -
LE MANS: Driver Lineups For LM24 Finalized
Seats at Delta-ADR, Morand Racing, JMW Motorsport and others confirmed… -
PHOTOS: V8 Supercars COTA Gallery
UPDATED: View more than 150 photos from Austin as V8 Supercars Austin… -
GT: Black Falcon Mercedes Wins Rain-Soaked Nurburgring 24
Sean Edwards, Bernd Schneider, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Nicki Thiim… -
DAGYS: A Bright Future For V8 Supercars In America
John Dagys reflects back on the successful inaugural Austin 400 and… -
GT: Sofronas, Lee Win Sunday's WC GT, GTS Races At COTA
GMG Racing's James Sofronas takes Audi R8 LMS to third Pirelli World… - More News
