TALLADEGA, Ala. — Paul Menard is “more than likely” not going to finish Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com500 after battling neck pain and the team has orchestrated a plan to have Truck Series driver Matt Crafton on standby.
“My neck has some disc issues and things that if I were to get upside-down it would be pretty bad,” Menard said. “Normal hits aren’t bad, it’s upside-down things that are bad.”
Depending on how the Wood Brother’s Racing driver feels after climbing in the iconic No. 21, Menard would ultimately decide as to whether he feels as if he needs to exit the car.
“We have a good back-up plan with Matt (Crafton) and tried to get him as much drafting as we could yesterday because more than likely, honestly, I’m probably gonna get out,” said Menard. We’re gonna kind of see how it goes.”
The NASCAR rulebook says that a driver must start a race to earn points awarded for the event, so if Crafton hops into the Wood Brother’s Ford after the race begins, then Menard would be awarded the points for wherever Crafton ultimately finishes.
Crafton most recently substituted for Kyle Busch in the 2015 Daytona 500 after Busch suffered a leg injury in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race.