Menard began karting at age eight, winning the Briggs Junior Karting Class Championship in Wisconsin. He progressed through ice racing, legends cars on short tracks, and regional late model competition before entering the NASCAR Re/Max Challenge Series in 2000. By 2002 he was competing simultaneously in the ReMax Challenge, SCCA Trans-Am, Grand Am Cup, and the NASCAR Southwest Tour, claiming a victory at Phoenix in the latter series on the final lap.
His transition to NASCAR's upper tier began in 2003 when he joined Andy Petree Racing for entries in the Cup, Busch, and Truck series while also competing in ARCA, scoring his first ARCA win at Talladega Superspeedway that year.
Menard drove for Dale Earnhardt Inc. in the Busch Series beginning in 2004, earning his first career pole at Kansas Speedway. Under crew chief Dan Stillman from 2005, he built consistency, finishing sixth in Busch Series points in both 2005 and 2006. In June 2006 he claimed his first Busch Series victory at the Milwaukee Mile, holding off Kevin Harvick in a late-race confrontation that drew controversy when Harvick attempted to bump him aside. He made his first full-time Cup season in 2007 after DEI's merger with Ginn Racing, finishing the year without a top-ten on the Cup side.
In 2008 Menard won his first Sprint Cup pole at Daytona International Speedway and delivered a career-high second-place finish at Talladega, finishing 26th in final points — a career best to that point.
Menard moved to the No. 98 Ford with Yates Racing for 2009 in a season marked by near-misses but no top-tens, finishing 31st in points — the only driver to not record a top-ten while completing the full schedule. The team transferred to Richard Petty Motorsports via merger for 2010, and Menard improved to 23rd in points with several top-tens including a fifth at Atlanta, his second-highest career Cup finish to that point.
Menard's defining moment came on July 31, 2011, in his 167th Cup start: he won the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, making his final pit stop with 36 laps remaining, surrendering the lead to Jamie McMurray, then retaking it with four laps to go and holding off Jeff Gordon — winner of the inaugural Brickyard 400 — to the flag. It was the first time a member of the Menard family had won at Indianapolis in any event.
In September 2011 at Richmond, Menard was at the centre of controversy when his car spun in the closing laps under circumstances widely interpreted as an intentional act designed to assist RCR teammate Kevin Harvick, who subsequently won the race.
The following seasons at RCR saw incremental improvement. Menard posted a career-high 13 top-tens in 2014 and reached the Chase for the first time in 2015, finishing a career-best 14th in the standings after benefiting from Matt Kenseth's two-race suspension. In August 2015, he secured his third Xfinity Series win at Road America, a track located a few miles from his hometown. He also won a Nationwide Series race at Michigan in June 2014 after Joey Logano blew a tyre with four laps remaining.
Menard joined the historic Wood Brothers team in 2018, driving the No. 21 Ford — the same number Ryan Blaney had vacated. He earned his second career Cup pole at Chicagoland in June 2018. After indicating he had a contract for 2020, Menard announced in September 2019 that he would retire from full-time competition at the end of the season.
After his 2019 retirement, Menard made a part-time Truck Series appearance at Circuit of the Americas in 2021 for ThorSport Racing. He later returned to road-course competition in the Trans-Am Series, winning the TA class championship in both 2024 and 2025 driving the No. 3 Ford Mustang for 3GT Racing.
Paul Menard's career is characterised by steady, professional performances across multiple NASCAR series over more than 15 years. His lone Cup win at the Brickyard 400 — one of NASCAR's most prestigious races — came in dramatic fashion and stands as the highlight of his Cup tenure. His background as the son of a major sponsor gave him unusual longevity in the sport, and his late-career success in Trans-Am demonstrated continued competitiveness well after stepping away from stock car racing's top tier.