Can RCR be a threat once again?

As a driver who brings sponsorship from his family business, Menard has more pull than most racers.

Yet after qualifying for the Chase last season for the first time in his Sprint Cup career, Menard hasn’t been in the top 20 in the standings since Martinsville Speedway in early April, when he posted his first top-10 finish of the season.

Shaking things up

Since then, Menard, 36, has slipped to 23rd in the standings. Although he finished 10th last weekend at Indianapolis, earning his second top-10 of 2016, the result did not come soon enough to save crew chief Justin Alexander.

No doubt, Alexander was thrown in the deep end at Richard Childress Racing. True, he worked at Hendrick Motorsports under the best in the business as a lead race engineer for Chad Knaus on the championship-winning No. 48 team and the No. 24 team with Alan Gustafson before moving to RCR in 2013. But Alexander had never led a team prior to replacing Slugger Labbe on the No. 27 Menards Chevy in the fall of 2014. Alexander worked as the No. 27 team’s lead engineer prior to Menard selecting him as crew chief when Labbe was initially looking to get off the road.

Two weeks ago, one RCR principal suggested it might have been in Alexander’s best interest for him to hone his skills in the Xfinity Series prior to graduating to the Cup series as a crew chief. Perhaps the wheels were already in motion.

There have been rumors circulating about changes with crew chiefs and the engineering staff at RCR since May. That was also around the time the Menards sponsorship ended up on Simon Pagenaud’s IndyCar for the events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Soon after, speculation started that an alliance between Paul Menard and Team Penske could occur on the NASCAR side as well.

Over the last month, RCR has appeared a little more confident that Menard — both the driver and the sponsorship — would remain with the company. The promotion Danny Stockman Jr. this week as crew chief of the No. 27 Chevy is likely a precursor to a subsequent announcement that Menard will sign on for another year at RCR.

Stockman led Austin Dillon to Truck and Xfinity titles. As a crew chief, he’s won two races in 26 truck starts and seven victories with three different drivers in NXS — including Menard at his home track of Elkhart Lake (Wisc.).

“We look at the balance of our team and as has happened multiple times in the years you look at the chemistry of the team and after a while you realize you need to do something to keep performance up,” said Dr. Eric Warren, RCR’s vice president of competition. “Paul made the Chase last year, we felt like it was one of his best years, but to be honest, the last part of the Chase we struggled a little bit. It continued a little bit at the beginning of this year.

“We are trying to win a race and get in the Chase. It’s not over until it’s over and we know the guys at RCR and the organization is continuing to bring great cars to the track. We are working on some new improvements that hopefully show. There are a few races left that we still feel like we can get in…It’s really about Paul and Danny. They work well together on the Xfinity side, some of the races; it’s just kind of a natural progression.”

A sudden improvement

Stockman’s presence was felt immediately. Menard led first practice at Pocono Raceway on Friday. He then qualified third, a season-best.

Certainly, RCR has made gains. Last week at Indy, all three cars were running in the top 15 throughout the race. Ryan Newman was going to have a solid finish before Carl Edwards damaged his car with six laps remaining. Austin Dillon led the trio with a ninth-place finish. Menard posted his first top 10 at the Brickyard since his win in 2011.

On Friday at Pocono, RCR placed all three of its cars in the top 12 for the first time since August 2014 at Michigan.

Five years ago, RCR was a powerhouse. The company had three different cars go to Victory Lane in 2011. But Clint Bowyer moved on at the end of the year. Kevin Harvick followed suit two years later. Menard elected to stay the course.

Although RCR appears stronger than it’s been all season, it’s unlikely Menard’s 180-race winless drought will end on Sunday. But showing speed and qualifying well is a step in the right direction.