Yates to field No. 98 in Nationwide Series
“To be able to field a Nationwide Ford Fusion on top of our Cup program says so much about Yates Racing," said Max Jones, co-owner and General Manager of Yates Racing. “Matt Puccia, who will be the crew chief on the No. 98 car has done a great job with putting together a team that we feel will have some great runs this season."
“I’m really looking forward to working with Matt Puccia and the entire No. 98 Nationwide team," said driver Paul Menard. “We took the No. 98 Menards Ford Fusion down to Rockingham last week for a one-day test and were really pleased with how fast our car was right off the truck. Our first race of the season in the Nationwide Series isn’t until Bristol, which gives us a few more weeks to work on our car. Rheem Water Heaters have signed on to run 14 of the races as the primary vendor on the car. We’ve had a great relationship with Rheem and hopefully can go out and win a couple races with them as part of the program."
Menard will make his Nationwide Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 21, 2009 with crew chief Matt Puccia calling the shots atop the pit box. Puccia worked last season with Roush Fenway Racing driver Erik Darnell in the Camping World Truck Series earning one win, nine top-fives, 12 top-10s and two pole awards.
No. 98 Nationwide Schedule with Paul Menard:
3/21/09 – Bristol Motor Speedway
4/4/09 – Texas Motor Speedway
4/17/09 – Phoenix International Raceway
5/8/09 – Darlington Raceway
5/23/09 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
5/30/09 – Dover International Speedway
6/27/09 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway
7/10/09 – Chicagoland Speedway
8/8/09 – Watkins Glen International
8/15/09 – Michigan International Speedway
8/30/09 – Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
9/5/09 – Atlanta Motor Speedway
9/11/09 – Richmond International Raceway
10/10/09 – Auto Club Speedway
11/14/09 – Phoenix International Raceway
11/21/09 – Homestead-Miami Speedway