began producing the engines under the Menard V6 name. Driver Scott Brayton won two consecutive Indy 500 poles for Menard, but was killed in a practice crash before the 1996 500. Tony Stewart got his first Indy 500 starts for Menard, and in 1992 Al Unser Sr. scored the highest Indy 500 finish for the team (3rd) and the highest ever 500 finish for the Buick/Menard V6 engine. Menards has supported several racing drivers, including Paul Menard (John Menard's son) who won his only NASCAR Cup race in the 2011 Brickyard 400 in a Menards sponsored Richard Childress Chevrolet. ; Robby Gordon; P. J. Jones; Brandon Jones; Matt Crafton; Simon Pagenaud, Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto. Menards began sponsoring Team Penske in 2016. Menards has also become the title sponsor of races in the Xfinity Series and as the entitlement sponsor for the ARCA Racing Series. In 2023, the Menards and Matt Crafton sponsorship partnership surpassed STP and Richard Petty as NASCAR's longest-tenured driver/sponsorship relationship. Industry rankings In 2021, Menards ranked 26th on Forbes’ list of "America's Largest Private Companies", with an estimated revenue of US$11.8 billion. In 2022, Menards ranked 34th on the National Retail Federation's list of "100 Top Retailers". In 2022, Menards ranked second in a J.D. Power survey in customer satisfaction among home improvement retail stores. In 2022, Menards ranked 28th on Forbes' list of "America's Largest Private Companies" with an estimated revenue of US$ 13 billion. Controversies According to Milwaukee Magazine in 2007, Menards was cited with more regulatory violations involving air/water pollution and hazardous waste disposal than any other company in Wisconsin. It also alleges that the company is strongly anti-union, to the point that it will not hire anyone who has ever worked in a union shop, even if they did so while in their teen years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan's Attorney General Dana Nessel sent Menards a cease and desist letter citing 18 complaints from consumers in regards to price gouging on products such as face masks and bleach. "Big box stores are not immune to the Michigan Consumer Protection Act or the Governor's Executive Order", Nessel said. "Large corporations must also play by the rules, and my office will work diligently to ensure this state's consumers are treated fairly and not abused by businesses seeking to unlawfully jack prices up to line their pockets with profits at the expense of