Ricky Stenhouse Jr – Cheez-It 355 at the Glen Advance
Team: No. 17 Best Buy Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Primary Chassis: RK- 816 – last raced at Sonoma– finished 27th.
Backup Chassis: RK- 758 – back-up chassis for road course races in 2012.
ADVANCE NOTES
· Stenhouse Jr. at Watkins Glen
o Stenhouse will make his first Sprint Cup start at Watkins Glen this weekend.
o Stenhouse is currently 21st in the point standings.
o Last year in the three road course races on the Nationwide schedule, Stenhouse finished 12th or better including a fourth place finish.
· The Car
o Chassis RK-816 is the same chassis that the Sprint Cup rookie contender raced at Sonoma, finishing a respectable 27th.
· Best Buy
o Best Buy joined Roush Fenway Racing and the No. 17 car in 2012.
o After many seasons in the sport, they got their first race win at the 2012 Daytona 500.
o Make sure to follow @BestBuy and use hashtag #BestBuy17 in 2013.
· Local native
o Veteran spotter Mike Calinoff is from Hauppauge, N.Y.
Stenhouse Jr. on racing at Watkins Glen:
“Last year in the Nationwide Series, we had a strong fourth-place finish, but I know that it will be completely different in the Cup car. Friday we will just log laps because seat time is valuable. After the past couple of weeks, I think if we can leave Watkins Glen with a top-20 it would be considered a success for our No. 17 team.”
Scott Graves on racing at Watkins Glen:
“Since Ricky hasn’t logged any laps in a Cup car at Watkins Glen, we will focus on running as many laps as we can on Friday to get him more seat time. You never know what can happen on a road course, but the key is to be there at the end. I think if we play the right fuel strategy and stay on course that we can get a top-20 in our Best Buy Ford.”
