NASCAR veteran and SCCA Central Carolinas Region member Paul Menard’s last-minute decision to compete full time in the 11-race 2024 SCCA Pro Racing-sanctioned Trans Am Presented by Pirelli season was huge news at the Sebring International Raceway season-opener. The Wisconsin-bred, North Carolina-resident driver joined forces with GT3 Racing – Trans Am stalwart Paul Gentilozzi and sons Tony and John – and was an immediate force at the top of the order.
Indeed, after a superb 11-race, February-to-November points duel, Menard had wrested the TA-class title away from defending and three-time TA champion Chris Dyson on the strength of six wins to the New Yorker’s four.
Trans Am Flirtation
Menard was no Trans Am rookie, debuting in 2002 – at Trois Rivieres in a Mike Davis/ACS Express entry – and running five races total following a successful teenage run in karts and NASCAR Late Models.
His oval track success and sponsorship, though, led to NASCAR, and by 2007, he had a full time Cup Series ride with Dale Earnhardt Inc.
When he finally stepped back 12 years later from full time competition to focus on his North Carolina business (Paul Menard Inc.) and growing family (young son and daughter), he could look back on success in everything NASCAR had to offer, from Trucks to Cup.
But he was still a racer. In 2020, he raced at VIRginia International Raceway as something of a favor to an old friend, Pancho Weaver, who was then developing a new Dodge Challenger for Trans Am.
“Pancho and I have been friends a long time,” Menard says. “We worked together at DEI back in, 2005. I helped him get his new car ready in 2020, went to VIR with the team, and he let me drive [in the second race of the] double header.
“Being out of that world and then getting plugged back in – there was a lot to learn.”
Appetite whetted, he ran three 2022 races in one of Showtime Racing’s Chevrolet Camaros that included a first Trans Am win at Charlotte.
“By then, I’d gotten to know [team owner] Ken Thwaits pretty well. He’s a great guy, loves the sport, loves the series, loves helping out young kids. He's one of those guys that Trans Am's really lucky to have in the paddock.”
In 2023, Menard was back behind the wheel of Weaver’s Challenger for another abbreviated effort – two races, at Sebring and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But that winter, all the stars aligned for a larger commitment: Menard, with support from his family’s Menards chain and Masterforce Tools, showed up at Trans Am’s 2024 Sebring season opener with a new GT3-prepped Ford Mustang and plans for a full season.
“It’s all about the cars – well, the cars and the people,” he explains. “The schedule length is about perfect, maybe a little bit long for a semi-retired father of two young kids. But I get to bring them along when it works out and let them see what I grew up doing.
“I've got so many memories as a child being at the racetrack that I want them to share, even if they're not into it – seeing how a race team operates.”
Points Duel with Dyson
A seat-fitting at the Gentilozzi team’s Lansing, MI, shop was the only time Menard saw the car before Sebring. There, in the second practice session, he reeled off his first several laps.
A testament to his skill and experience, he later qualified a strong second to seven-time Trans Am champ Ernie Francis Jr. (who was making a one-off appearance) and ahead of three-time champ Chris Dyson, series veteran Tomi Drissi, Wally Dallenbach Jr. (also making a rare return to the National series), regular frontrunner Amy Ruman, and half a dozen others in the large TA field.
In the race, Menard got a huge break on the very first lap as Dyson’s GYM WEED Mustang slipped wide, clipped Francis’ Dodge Challenger, and the two front runners retired on the spot.
Menard sped away, challenged briefly by Drissi and Ruman, but strongly in the lead through all 27 laps.
Handling issues and a rare retirement cost him points in Round 2 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, but he finished second to Dyson at NOLA – leading much of the way but struggling in the closing laps and dropping to second.
“New Orleans … we sat on the pole there and led most of the race,” Menard says. “Dyson got us at the end. We had speed, we just didn't have the ‘longevity’ in the first few races.”
Not until May, in pre-race testing at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (Pitt Race), did the team find and fix the issue.
“It was a heim joint bottoming out that made the car really loose once the tires wore and the fuel load burned off,” Menard explains. “In the first couple of races, I was just holding on…”
By then, Menard and the GT3 team were on a roll – three straight wins, at Lime Rock Park (leaders Dyson and Adam Andretti coming together early on), Pitt Race, and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
It would have been four straight, but Road America on-track winner Menard was penalized for mid-race contact and classified second behind reigning TA2 champion Brent Crews in a one-off TA-class run.
Dyson pipped Menard for the win at Watkins Glen, but Paul bounced right back, notching a victory at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park – heartbreak there for Dyson who spun out of the lead with two laps to go.
“That was a ‘Send it in the corner and hold on for an hour!’ race,” Menard extols. “A lot of fun. That is a badass track – a very, very challenging track.”
A Texas Lock-in, and on to ’25
Next up, VIR.
“We struggled with the car all weekend at VIR,” Menard recalls. “Dyson beat us in qualifying by a little bit, but he spun the tires on the start, so we jumped to the front. He had an issue during the race, but we were the fastest car when race time came around.
“We battled a lot of adversity there – basically rebuilt the suspension on the car twice. A lot of work getting to [the star], but it was really fast for the race.”
A big win for Menard – his sixth of the season – but yet another heartbreak for Dyson. His Mustang suffered a mechanical DNF after just seven laps that let Menard’s race-winning GT3 team take a 93-point lead into the Trans Am season finale.
All Paul would have to do is start the race at Circuit of The Americas to clinch the title.
The Texas weekend itself, though, was anticlimactic: Menard qualified on pole but suffered mechanical issues right from the start and recorded only his second DNF of the season.
A very worthy champion – and there’s more to come, he says.
“Will I do this again? Yeah, that's our plan,” Menard says. “Paul and I have a handshake deal. We trust each other enough to say, ‘If we're going to do this, let's go do it.’ That's where we're at right now: getting ready for 2025.”
Photo courtesy Trans Am Series
