Paul Menard has not started a NASCAR Cup Series race from the pole position since the 2008 season. That is set to change tomorrow in the Overton’s 400.
Wood Brothers Racing’s Paul Menard took a shocking pole position for the Overton’s 400, the 17th race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season, at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.
Menard’s lone Cup Series victory thus far in his career came back in the 2011 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Prior to today, he also had one career pole position, and that one career pole position came more than three years prior to his lone victory, as he took the pole position for the 2008 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
Nearly 10 years later, Menard is set to start a Cup Series race from the pole position once He Menard took the pole position for the Overton’s 400 in his #21 Ford with a lap time of 29.998 seconds (180.012 miles per hour) in the third and final round of qualifying around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Chicagoland Speedway oval.
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Menard is set to start the race alongside Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in his #12 Ford, as Ford drivers swept the first two positions on the starting grid. Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott was the highest qualifying Chevrolet driver in his #9 Chevrolet, and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin was the highest qualifying Toyota driver in his #11 Toyota. Elliott and Hamlin are set to start alongside one another in third and fourth place, respectively.
Ford drivers took six of the top eight positions on the starting grid, as three Stewart-Haas Racing drivers and another Team Penske driver qualified right behind Elliott and Hamlin. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola qualified in fifth, sixth and seventh place in their #41 Ford, #14 Ford and #10 Ford, and Keselowski qualified in eighth in his #2 Ford.
The other Stewart-Haas Racing driver, Kevin Harvick, surprisingly qualified down in 13th place in his #4 Ford, and the other Team Penske driver, Joey Logano, qualified in 14th in his #22 Ford.
Here are the full qualifying results for the 2018 Overton’s 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Manufacturer |
| 1 | Paul Menard | #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford |
| 2 | Ryan Blaney | #12, Team Penske, Ford |
| 3 | Chase Elliott | #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 4 | Denny Hamlin | #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 5 | Kurt Busch | #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 6 | Clint Bowyer | #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 7 | Aric Almirola | #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 8 | Brad Keselowski | #2, Team Penske, Ford |
| 9 | William Byron | #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 10 | Erik Jones | #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 11 | Daniel Suarez | #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 12 | Martin Truex Jr. | #78, Furniture Row Racing, Toyota |
| 13 | Kevin Harvick | #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 14 | Joey Logano | #22, Team Penske, Ford |
| 15 | Jamie McMurray | #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 16 | Austin Dillon | #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 17 | Alex Bowman | #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 19 | Ryan Newman | #31, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 20 | Kyle Larson | #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 21 | A.J. Allmendinger | #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet |
| 22 | Jimmie Johnson | #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 23 | Chris Buescher | #37, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet |
| 24 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 25 | Trevor Bayne | #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 26 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | #43, Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 27 | David Ragan | #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford |
| 28 | Kasey Kahne | #95, Leavine Family Racing, Chevrolet |
| 29 | Ty Dillon | #13, Germain Racing, Chevrolet |
| 30 | Michael McDowell | #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford |
| 31 | Ross Chastain | #15, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | #32, Go Fas Racing, Ford |
| 33 | Gray Gaulding | #23, BK Racing, Toyota |
| 34 | Kyle Weatherman | #99, StarCom Racing, Chevrolet |
| 35 | Landon Cassill | #00, StarCom Racing, Chevrolet |
| 36 | Corey Lajoie | #72, TriStar Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 37 | B.J. McLeod | #51, Rick Ware Racing, Chevrolet |
| 38 | Reed Sorenson | #7, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 39 | Timmy Hill | #66, MBM Motorsports, Toyota |
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The 2018 Overton’s 400 is set to be broadcast live from Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois this Sunday, July 1 at 2:30 p.m. ET. Will Paul Menard seal his first victory since he won the 2011 Brickyard 400? Be sure to tune in to the race at that time to find out.