KANSAS CITY, Kan. (Oct. 21, 2018) – After a pit-road speeding penalty set him back, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove his Fastenal Ford to a 20th-place finish in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Kansas Speedway.

“We really struggled today with the handling of our Fastenal Ford,” Stenhouse said. “Kansas has been a decent track for us in the past but we just struggled. We have four more races to keep building momentum as we head into the off-season.”

The Olive Branch, Miss. native rolled off in the 15thposition for the 267-lap race but gradually fell back due to a lack of overall grip before the caution was displayed on lap 56.  Crew chief Brian Pattie made a strategy call to stay out, giving the Fastenal Ford the lead on the restart. Newer tires prevailed in the final 16 laps of stage one forcing Stenhouse to settle with 21st position when the green-checkered flag waved.

With a caution free stage two, the two-time Xfinity champion received a pit-road speeding penalty during a scheduled green flag pit-stop causing him to lose two laps to the leaders. When the green checkered waved at the end of stage two, the Fastenal Ford was scored in the 22nd position.

In the final stage, crew chief Brian Pattie kept the Fastenal Ford out on the track as long as he could before the final pit-stop in hopes of a quick caution. Unfortunately, the final stage went caution free forcing Stenhouse to settle with a 20th –place finish.

Via Roush Fenway Racing

DOVER, Del. (Oct. 7, 2018) – After blowing a right front tire, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rebounded to earn a ninth-place finish in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Dover International Speedway.

“We struggled with the handling but we were able to rebound there at the end,” Stenhouse said. “Brian Pattie made some great calls on pit strategy to get us in position there late in the race to get the lucky dog and then be able to battle with those guys at the end. Overall it was a decent day for our Fastenal Ford.”

After rain cancelled qualifying setting the lineup by points, the Olive Branch, Miss. native lined up for the 400-lap race in the 21st position and steadily worked his forward. Crew chief Brian Pattie chose to keep the Fastenal Ford out longer than leaders allowing Stenhouse to maintain the lead for seven laps before hitting pit-road for a scheduled pit-stop. With a caution free stage one, Stenhouse closed out the stage in the 21st position.

After taking the wave around during the stage break, the two-time Xfinity champion lined up in the 18th position for the next 120-lap stage. Despite battling an ill-handling machine, Stenhouse was able to gain two positions taking the green checkered at the end of stage two in the 16th position.

With less than 100 laps remaining, a right front tire blew on the No. 17 Fastenal machine sending him into the wall and causing him to forfeit a lap to the leaders. Luckily a much needed caution was displayed allowing Stenhouse to get back one of his laps.

After getting himself into the lucky dog position, the caution flag waved allowing him to get back on the lead lap. With a multitude of cautions late in the race which eventually sent the race into over-time, Stenhouse was able to bully his way back to earn a top-10 finish.

Via Roush Fenway Racing