The No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team headed to Kansas City, Kan., for the NASCAR Nationwide Series event this weekend at Kansas Speedway. Paul Menard climbed behind the wheel of the Rheem/Menards Chevrolet Impala where he started and finished the race in the fourth position.
Quickly after the green flag waved, Menard worked his way to the third position. Before he and the rest of the 43-car field could settle into the run, the race was slowed for the first caution of the day on lap five for an accident in turns one and two. NASCAR cleared the track and brought the field back to green-flag racing on lap eight with the No. 33 in the third position.
Menard held steady in third until a second caution came on lap 39 for debris. With the caution, the KHI team elected to bring the No. 33 to pit road for four tires and fuel. The team also made chassis and air-pressure adjustments to help ease the tight-handling condition Menard reported he was fighting on entry and center of the corners. The race returned to green on lap 45 with the Rheem/Menard’s Chevrolet in the third spot.
The yellow caution lights flashed for a third time on lap 60 for debris on the track. Running in third and overall happy with the car, the team opted to bring Menard down pit road for fuel and a minor chassis adjustment. Quick work on pit road by the KHI crew put the No. 33 Chevrolet back on track in the third position for the restart on lap 66.
Menard maintained the third spot as he raced three-wide around the 1.5-mile track, but by lap 72, the driver powered his way to second. As the driver worked to hold on to second, cars that opted to get tires during the last caution closed in on the Rheem/Menards machine. By lap 82, the No. 33 had dropped to seventh.
The caution flag waved for a fourth time on lap 87 as a competitor’s engine expired, dropping oil on the track. As the field slowed, Menard relayed that the handling of the Chevrolet was much better. Given the feedback, the KHI team elected for no adjustments but called Menard to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel. The race returned to green on lap 96 with the No. 33 in the ninth position.
As the field wound back up to full speed, Menard was able to work his way to sixth by lap 98. The 200-lap event marched past the halfway point, and Menard continued his march toward the front as he moved into the fourth spot on lap 101. The driver radioed to his KHI team that the handling of the Chevrolet was really good, and by lap 135, he reached the second position.
Menard’s move toward the front was put on hold as the fifth caution of race fell on lap 141 for fluid on the track. The team brought the driver down pit road for four tires and fuel and executed a solid stop. Just as the driver returned to the track in the second position, however, NASCAR informed the team they would have to line up at the tail end of the longest line as Menard was too fast entering pit road. With the penalty, the team opted to bring Menard back down pit road to top off with fuel and to make a small chassis adjustment. After the second stop, the No. 33 lined up in the 18th position for the restart on lap 148.
Back under green, Menard worked his way through the field. With less than 40 laps to go to the scheduled distance of the event, the driver reached the ninth position.
The race was slowed for the final caution as a car spun down the track in the middle of turns one and two on lap 173. Running in the ninth position, the KHI team called Menard to pit road for four tires and fuel. The No. 33 took returned to the track in 15th for the restart on lap 178 and as the race returned to green-flag conditions, the driver fought his way forward, racing three-wide for several laps as he climbed back through the field.
With fewer than15 laps to go to checkered flag, Menard powered his way into the third position. The driver fought to hold on to the position but over the final 10 laps, KHI teammate Elliott Sadler and the No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet passed Menard, leaving the No. 33 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet to cross the finish line in the fourth spot.
Menard will make his final start of the season with the No. 33 team next Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Watch live on ESPN2 at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, October 14 and listen to PRN at 7:00 p.m. ET.