Ricky Stenhouse Jr – Daytona 500 Advance
Team: No. 17 Nationwide Insurance Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Mike Kelley
Primary Chassis: RK- 830 – last raced in Talladega- finished 3rd
Backup Chassis: RK-872 – new chassis
ADVANCE NOTES
· Stenhouse at Daytona
o Stenhouse has three career starts at DIS, completing 563 of 563 laps (100%) with an average starting position of 19.3 and average finishing position of 14.3.
· Duels
o With a ninth-place qualifying effort, Stenhouse will start fifth in the first Duel at Daytona, on Thursday, February 20th.
· The Car
o Chassis RK-830 was raced at all superspeedway races in 2013 by the No. 17 team. It was last raced at Talladega where Stenhouse claimed a third-place finish, his first top-five finish of his rookie season.
· Nationwide Insurance
o Nationwide Insurance teamed up with Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 17 team in 2013 where they served as primary for three races.
o Nationwide Insurance will serve as primary sponsor on the No. 17 Ford seven times this season including all of Speedweeks.
Stenhouse on the Daytona 500:
“We have been strong since we’ve been here so I am looking forward to the Daytona 500. Even though we didn’t get the finish we wanted in the Sprint Unlimited, we learned some things for the Duels and the Daytona 500. Daytona has so much history that we all want to add our name to the list of Daytona 500 winners. If we can stay out of trouble, I feel confident that our Nationwide Insurance Ford will be a contender at the end.”
Kelley on the Daytona 500:
“The Daytona 500 is our Super Bowl and sets the tone for your season. We learned some things in the Sprint Unlimited that should help us in the Duels and the 500. Our main goal for the Duels is to have a strong finish to earn a starting position up front for the 500. Anything can happen at superspeedways so if we can stay out of trouble, I’m confident that we will have a strong finish on Sunday.”
