Baby Congratulations Cards

Newton: Money well spent

INDIANAPOLIS -- Crew chief Slugger Labbe was screaming wildly over the team radio late Sunday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and congratulations were buzzing in from everywhere when in a soft, almost monotone voice came the words, "Dad, this one's for you."

If you've followed Paul Menard 's career, you might smile.

Or shed a tear.

Menard has spent a lifetime being criticized for having a billionaire father advance his career by sponsoring the cars he drives. It never was worse than in 2007 when two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart said, "You can have your father buy a ride and write [Dale Earnhardt Inc.] a big check, but you can't buy talent."

Well, this so-called no-talent driver is the 2011 Brickyard 400 winner.

John Menard didn't write a check to get his son into Victory Lane for the first time on this hot, muggy day. Paul earned it by conserving fuel when Labbe said to and then gunning it when Labbe said "race for your life" with two laps remaining and four-time Brickyard 400 champion Jeff Gordon closing fast.

He did it by ignoring all the criticism he's taken during his 30 years and believing he could do what nobody else did.

"It's like redemption," a sweat-soaked and emotionally drained John said from Victory Lane.

Ah, Victory Lane at Indianapolis. It's a place the Menard family has longed to be since John started bringing Indy cars here more than 30 years ago only to see engine failures and other heartbreaks deprive him of a win.

Probably the last person anyone expected to get the family here was Paul.

But there stood John on the hallowed checkered ground, so proud he could barely talk. There stood Paul, almost stunned in disbelief.

"Paul was just a baby when I started coming here," John said. "He just wanted to race. As he got further and further into racing, people said, 'Well, just because he's my kid he gets to drive.'

"Well, that's true. But you know, he can drive a race car. And he's a good kid. I'm so happy for him."

Gordon was so happy for Menard that he put aside the frustration of finishing second to personally congratulate Paul and John in Victory Lane.

"A guy like Paul, who grew up here and his family came here every year for the 500, I don't think anybody could appreciate this win more than him," Gordon said. "Especially for his first win. That's pretty special.

Lucky Friday # 22 Bundle of Joy, Baby Congratulations! | Hello ...

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the twenty-second edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards . We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please) :

Mary, Marjolein, and Alyssa!

We’ll contact you early next week to arrange sending your Good Luck card.

Now for this week’s edition:

Design: Bundle of Joy

Artist: Anna Hurley

I nspiration : We don’t quite know how it happened—  something in the water, or a glimmer in the eye— it felt like the idea just fell out of the sky.

Who to send it to : A couple whose wish was granted—that the stork has landed.

Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one : We had a version of the card with a weary looking stork carrying triplets, reading: “Stork Up and Save!”

Favorite detail : We like how the skyline could be most anywhere, but it has a mix of San Francisco urban and Scandinavian flair.

Why Letterpress? You’d be stork raving mad not to send or stock such striking stationery!

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