The NASCAR season begins this Saturday with the non-points Budweiser Shootout ahead of next Sunday’s Super bowl of the sport, the season-opening . WagerWeb.com previews the prospects of No. 27 at Daytona.

For the first time in his relatively brief Sprint Cup career, Menard enters a season without an ugly zero in the career win column. In one of the big shockers of the 2011 season, Menard notched his first career win – and brought some magic along at the same time. Menard won the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, finally putting the Menard name – one long associated with the world’s most famous race track – in its victory lane.

Now, Menard said, it’s time to move on to the next level.

“Our realistic goal is to make the Chase,” he said. “We have the same group of guys from last year. We didn’t see a need to make many changes on the team. Everybody’s really happy. I come to the shop once or twice a week and see smiles on people’s faces.”

Menard and the No. 27 Chevrolet team closed the 2011 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway enduring a series of rain showers and a persistent tight-handling condition to finish 16th. On the strength of one win, four top-five and eight top-10 finishes, Menard finished a career-high 17th in the NSCS driver championship point standings.

Menard rolls into his second season at Richard Childress Racing and his third with crew chief Slugger Labbe. On Saturday night, Menard will make his second Budweiser Shootout appearance. In July 2008, Menard earned the pole award at DIS, qualifying him for the 2009 Budweiser Shootout. He started from the pole position when he drew the top spot during Budweiser’s annual Shootout Draw Party and finished the two-segment event 12th.

There is definitely pressure on the 31-year-old to prove that he can keep running with the series’ elite and avoid the dreaded “one-year wonder” label. Only once in 2011 did Menard score back-to-back top 10s. If he can find a rhythm, not a roller coaster, one of the better-funded teams in NASCAR could finally earn the points to match their hefty paychecks within this crowded field of Chase contenders.

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