NASCAR Cup Series

Banner year: Paul Menard continues to lead way at RCR

Published Jun. 23, 2014 4:15 p.m. ET

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For much of the 2014 season, Paul Menard has carried the banner Richard Childress Racing. That continued Sunday in Sonoma, as the driver of the No. 27 Chevrolet scored his third top-five finish of the year, besting teammates Ryan Newman and Austin Dillon.

Crew chief Slugger Labbe was able to keep up with strategy and handling throughout the day, and Menard was able to keep it on track en route to the fifth-place finish.

"It was a good day," Menard said. "We unloaded fast on Friday, and we qualified ninth. We were disappointed with ninth actually. We felt like we had a little bit better car than that actually. The first run was pretty brutal actually. We got really loose, and the guys tightened it up with some air pressure, and we got a lot better. From then on, we were a 10th place car probably and then drove up to top-five with tires."

The fifth-place finish was a career-best at Sonoma for Menard, which was 14th prior to Sunday. This marked the fifth time this year the RCR driver has earned or tied his best finish at a track -- the others being Las Vegas, Martinsville, Charlotte, and Michigan.

Already through the first 16 races of the season, Menard has matched his record of three top-five and nine top-10 finishes from last season, bettered those same statistics from 2012, and is on track to have his best year to date. 

While Newman currently ranks higher in the points, Menard has out-performed his RCR teammates on nine occasions -- Las Vegas, Fontana, Martinsville, Texas, Talladega, Charlotte, Dover, Michigan, and Sonoma.

Sitting 12th in the regular season standings, Menard is in position to potentially make the Chase on points alone. However, the No. 27 team has been knocking on the door of Victory Lane week-in and week-out, and has a great shot and winning their way into the Chase before the cut-off at Richmond in Sept.

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