“It was just a tough weekend overall, for the Menards/Dale Earnhardt Inc. team,” Menard said following the 367-lap event. “Doug and the boys on the team were awesome, as usual, but we just couldn’t catch a break with the Lady in Black.”

After making significant strides in three of four practices sessions, Menard and his DEI backed team turned their attention to a practice qualifying run during Happy Hour. In the final minutes of practice, Menard came off turn four, scraped the wall, then came down and slapped the inside wall. The team worked swiftly to prepare the back up car so that Menard could complete his qualifying laps.

Menard turned in a conservative two lap to make sure he kept the car in one piece for the long race ahead and qualified in 41st position for the Dodge Challenger 500.

Upon taking the green flag in Saturday night’s race, Menard advanced into the top-35 by lap seven. He reported to Crew Chief Doug Randolph that he was loose getting into the corner and the over the wall crew made the necessary adjustments to the Menards/Nibco Chevy. On lap 57 Menard lost a lap to the leaders, but was able to regain the position on lap 151. At the time, Menard was running in 24th position. Unfortunately, the leaders came fast during green flag runs at Darlington and by lap 183 Menard had gone a lap down, once again.

During a routine pit stop on lap 206, Menard broke an axel cap inside his left rear wheel when pulling out of his pit. While he returned to track to survey the damage, it became clear to Randolph that the repairs would need to be done beyond the wall. The crew worked swiftly to repair the broken axel cap and Menard returned to the track, 27 laps down.

When the checkered flag flew on the 367-lap event, Menard was shown in 36th place. The results of the race weekend dropped Menard to 24th in NASCAR Sprint Cup driver’s points and 25th in owner’s standings.

“It’s a long season, so we’re bound to have rough weekends like this one every now and again,” Menard reasoned. “We’ll head home to Charlotte and rebound in the Coca Cola 600 like the top team that I know we are.”

Mark Martin and the No. 8 U.S. Army team experienced an unidentified power steering issue, but still managed to post a solid 16th-place finish in Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Darlington Raceway.

“This was a really tough race,” said Martin. “But these guys on this U.S. Army team are just incredible. They don’t give up and got us so many positions on pit road. We were able to hang in there and bring home a respectable finish."

“You don’t always have the fastest car out there and everything doesn’t always go perfect," added Martin. "On those nights you just have to dig deep and give it all you have. That is what these guys did tonight and I’m incredibly proud to drive their car each week.”

The veteran driver, who started 27th, patiently bided his time early in the race as several cars continued to collide with the wall. In the end, Martin’s Chevrolet Impala SS was one of only a handful of cars that did not tag the wall and collect the famous Darlington Stripe.

With the help of quick pit work by the Army over-the-wall crew, Martin did run as high as 12th during the 367-lap, 501-mile race.

The No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. team is now 15th in the Sprint Cup owner point standings, just 20 points outside of 12th and the cutoff point for the Chase.

In the driver standings, Martin is ranked 26th, despite only having competed in eight of 11 events. He is ahead of eight drivers who have competed in all 11 races this season.

Regan Smith’s first race at Darlington Raceway in a Sprint Cup car was an adventure from beginning to end. His weekend began with him scraping the wall in practice and earning his “Darlington Stripe”. After repairs were made to his No. 01 DEI/Principal Financial Group Chevrolet, the rookie of the year candidate ran some of his fastest practice times.

Smith backed up his practice runs by qualifying 16th for the Dodge Challenger 500, his best starting position of the year.

The track was not finished with Smith however, as he fought a tight race car during the event before eventually making contact with the wall again.

“This place is so tough,” Smith said. “It definitely deserves its reputation.”

Crew chief Doug Richert made a number of changes to the car during each pit stop, including air pressure and track bar adjustments.

“The guys did everything they could,” continued Smith. “We just couldn’t get the tightness out of the car. This place is so hard to pass at anyway, and this car is just hard to turn in the corners.”

Even though the result was not what he wanted, Smith did take some positives from the weekend.

“I got a lot of experience out there the past few days,” Smith said. “This was my first time here in a Cup car and I managed to finish the race and bring the car home in one piece. It’s all part of the learning process.”

Martin Truex’s weekend at Darlington appeared to be headed in the right direction. The Dale Earnhardt Inc. driver had managed to keep his Chevrolet Impala SS off the wall during all four practice sessions, post a solid qualifying position (22nd) and even move into the lead during Saturday’s Dodge Challenger 500.

Unfortunately, Truex’s run of good luck would some to an end on lap 301 when he made contact with Denny Hamlin. The No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats received damage on the right side, ruining the handling on the car. Truex managed to hang on to his car for the remaining 66 laps, but had to settle for a finishing position of 14th.

After starting on the 11th row, the Mayetta N.J. native quickly began moving to the front. Truex moved into the top 10 on lap 59 and radioed crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion, saying how much he liked his car.

“The car is great on long runs,” Truex said. “Yeah man, you’re doing a great job,” replied Manion.

Truex took the lead on lap 194 and held the position until he pitted on lap 202. He again showed his ability in getting around the legendary track and was back in the top position on lap 234.

Truex was running in second when the caution flag flew because of an incident involving the car of Brian Vickers on lap 248. Manion called for four fresh tires and an air pressure adjustment and Truex reentered the race in 12th.

Hamlin appeared to slow coming out of turn 4 on lap 301 and Truex made contact with him while the two were running in the top – 10. Hamlin spun down to the inside of the track and Truex made contact with the wall.

The Bass Pro Shops team went to work on the car, pulling the sheet metal away from the right side tires. Fresh Goodyear tires were put on and Truex reentered the race in 7th. Unfortunately, the damage affected the car’s handling and Truex had to fight his way around the 1.366 – mile track for the remainder of the race.

“We gave away some points tonight,” said Truex, who remained 15th in NASCAR Sprint Cup points. “We had a great car for most of the night and had a good chance to win this thing. We could have easily moved up a couple of spots in the standings. Once again, we’re in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“With the luck we’ve been having, I’m about ready to go see a witchdoctor to get this hex off us.”