Menard reaches agreement to drive for Yates Racing

CORNELIUS, N.C. -- Paul Menard has reached an agreement to drive for Yates Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series beginning with the 2009 season.

"This is a great opportunity and I'm glad to be joining the Yates Racing organization next season," Menard said. "I think a lot of what Doug Yates and Max Jones are doing over there is building for continued success. I'm excited to be a part of their future and excited to work with Travis [Kvapil] and David [Gilliland].

Menard

"You look at what Doug and the Ford Motor Company have done in this sport, they've created a lot of horsepower and hoisted quite a few trophies over the years. I'd like to help continue that for both of them."

Menard's Ford Fusion will feature sponsorship from Menards, his father's Midwest-based hardware chain that will follow him from his current ride at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Without Menard, DEI has just one full sponsor in Bass Pro Shops for Martin Truex Jr. He recently agreed to a one-year extension with DEI that takes him through 2009, but is winless this season and failed to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship one year after his breakthrough season.

Sponsorship from the U.S. Army is expected to leave DEI at the end of the year -- perhaps for Tony Stewart's new team -- and that leaves DEI without funding for the No. 8 Chevrolet that Aric Almirola will pilot.

Regan Smith, the fourth driver in DEI's current stable, has had very limited sponsorship all season.

Because of the economy, sponsorship has been incredibly difficult to find this year and very little new business is coming into NASCAR. Instead, longtime sponsors are simply moving to the best teams, and the smaller organizations are struggling for funding.

Chip Ganassi Racing closed one of its three teams in late June when the team couldn't find a sponsor for Dario Franchitti, and Texaco later said it will leave the sport at the end of the season. Texaco's departure leaves star Juan Montoya will only a half-season of sponsorship lined up for next year.

Yates Racing general manager Max Jones sees Menard as a fresh addition to his current roster.

"Paul is one of those guys I've personally been watching for the last two years; I think he's ready to take the next step in this series and become a driver we hear a lot about on the track in 2009," Jones said.

While details of Menard's car design and car number have yet to be finalized, team principal Doug Yates sees Menard really fitting in at Yates Racing.

"It's a positive addition for us to get a guy like Paul in camp here," Yates said. "He's been through adversity in his first year in Cup and shown tremendous improvement in his second year. He's a racer, a guy who likes to be at the shop a lot, from what I understand, and that's what we like here. Plus, he already has a good relationship with our current drivers, so adding that third source of data should help our entire team rise up."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.