Menard: ‘We’re moving on’ from ‘Clash’ with Johnson

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Paul Menard came close last weekend but did not win the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona. He still went to Disney World.

Three days after the late-race run-in with Jimmie Johnson that derailed his chances, Menard said he was trying to turn the page on Sunday’s incident at Daytona International Speedway. He said that he spoke with Johnson on Wednesday morning, before his appearance later that afternoon at Daytona 500 Media Day.

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“It is what it is, right? I felt like I was holding a wheel as good as I could,” said Menard, who led 51 of the exhibition race’s 59 laps in the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford. “I thought up front would be a pretty safe place, too, but Jimmie did what he did to try to win. It was not intentional. Maybe I moved down a little bit, I don’t know if there was no room for error, and two cars collided. So that’s what it is. I spent the last two days at Disney World with my two little kids and had a good time.”

Menard will aim to regroup ahead of Sunday’s main event, the 61st Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Though he had pointed comments for Johnson — the race’s eventual winner — in post-race interviews, Menard indicated that he was trying to let the heated moments pass.

“We’re moving on,” Menard said. “What’s done is done. We’re not looking in the rear-view mirror on that one, just moving on.”

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