Paul Menard moving to Wood Brothers NASCAR team in 2018

Eau Claire native Paul Menard and his family’s company are taking their NASCAR program to Wood Brothers Racing next season.

Menard, who is in his seventh season with Richard Childress Racing, will drive the Woods’ No 21 Ford with the Menards home-improvement chain serving as primary sponsor for 22 races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

The series’ oldest active team announced the move Wednesday, on a day when several pieces of the Silly Season puzzle came together.

RELATED: Eau Claire native Paul Menard feels at home at Road America

“I’ve really enjoyed my time in NASCAR and as a Cup Series driver, but to get the chance to drive the iconic No. 21 for the Wood Brothers is the coolest thing I’ve ever got a chance to do,” Menard said in the team’s announcement.

“I’m looking forward to working with the team, working with Roush Yates, Ford Performance and Team Penske to see what we can do.

“Ryan (Blaney) has done a fantastic job and is a constant threat to run up front. Hopefully, we can do the same thing and keep the momentum going into 2018 and beyond.”

Blaney will move to a new third entry from Penske Racing next year, that team announced. Blaney, 23, has been under contract to Penske and on loan to the Wood Brothers.

Menard, who will turn 37 next month, has competed in 373 races in NASCAR’s top division over 14 seasons with one victory, the 2011 Brickyard 400. His highest finish in the standings was 14th in 2015.

Menard also has won three times in the second-tier Xinfity Series, including his home races at the Milwaukee Mile in 2006 and Road America in Elkhart Lake in 2015. He will drive “a handful” of Xfinity races next year for Penske, the Wood Brothers said.

Wood Brothers Racing has roots to 1953 and has been one of the sport’s most beloved teams, campaigning with such notable drivers as David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Buddy Baker in the team’s heyday.

The Woods have won 99 races, most recently with Blaney at Pocono and before that the 2011 Daytona 500 with Trevor Bayne.

But the team hasn’t always raced full time, in large part because of sponsorship. Blaney’s 2016 rookie season was the first in nine years in which the Woods ran all 36 races.

“It’s fantastic to have the ability to continue to race in the highest level of motorsports full time and something we look forward to doing with Paul for years to come,” Eddie Wood said in the team’s announcement

“I know this will allow us to continue to perform as an organization and will give Paul a great opportunity to go out there and compete for wins. Paul is not only a great driver with a lot of experience in the Cup Series, but he’s great with partners, which is a big part of what we do these days.”

Childress, fields cars in the Cup Series for Menard, Austin Dillon and Ryan Newman. The team will announce its 2018 lineup at a later date, including “our plans for a third Cup team,” team owner Richard Childress said in a statement.

With Penske expanding and Menard moving to the Wood Brothers, plus announcements involving Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman within the past week, a handful of seats remain unsettled for next season.

Rick Hendrick said after Kasey Kahne won the Brickyard on Sunday that he could commit to keeping Kahne in his No. 5 Chevrolet. Richard Petty Motorsports has indicated it could expand to two cars. Danica Patrick’s future at Stewart Haas is probably dependent on sponsorship, but for that same description probably fits the SHR’s No. 10 car overall. And Furniture Row Racing’s No. 77 is dependent on sponsorship.