Menard to join Yates for 2009

The second-year Cup racer will turn his back on the team he has competed for since 2005 when he joined them for a full assault in the Nationwide Series, also making a Cup outing that year at Watkins Glen.

Menard brings sponsorship money with him to Yates Racing from his family-owned Menards stores, and he could drive a third entry for the team next year, as his new outfit has yet to confirm their plans for current drivers David Gilliland and Travis Kvapil.

"This is a great opportunity, and I'm glad to be joining the Yates Racing organization next season," said Menard. "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 and David.

"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 is the third driver to leave DEI in the last two years following the departure of Dale Earnhardt Jr last year and Mark Martin's already-announced switch to Hendrick Motorsports.

His arrival to Yates Racing secures good funding for one of the team's cars, after the Ford team has struggled to attract full-time sponsors for their current entries despite both cars being well within the top-35 in the owners' standing.

"It's a positive addition for us to get a guy like Paul in camp here," Doug 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."

Menard claimed his maiden Sprint Cup pole position at Daytona in July but his best race result this season has been an eleventh place at Michigan in the spring.