Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Toyota Owners 400 Advance
Team: No. 17 Nationwide Insurance Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Mike Kelley
Primary Chassis: RK- 877 – last ran at Phoenix- finished 18th
Backup Chassis: RK-888 – last ran at Bristol – finished 2nd
ADVANCE NOTES
· Stenhouse at Richmond
o Stenhouse has two career Sprint Cup starts at Richmond, earning one top-10 finish.
o Stenhouse is currently 25th in the Sprint Cup standings.
o Richmond marks Stenhouse’s 50th Sprint Cup start.
· The Car
o Chassis RK-877 is the same chassis that the No.17 team ran at Phoenix International Raceway, finishing a respectable 18th.
o The backup Chassis RK-888 is the same chassis that the No. 17 team posted their best finish of the season with at Bristol.
· Nationwide Insurance
o With the Nationwide Eagle on the hood, the No. 17 Nationwide Insurance primary paint scheme has earned one top-five and two top-10 finishes this season.
· Virginia native
o Team engineer, Tyler Nelson, grew up in Fredericksburg, VA.
Stenhouse on Richmond:
“Our No. 17 team is ready to get back to the race track after a weekend off. Richmond is typical short track racing which is always a lot of fun. It is important to have a car that turns in the center with good drive off. We had our best finish of the year at Bristol, another short track, so hopefully we can get another top-five finish this weekend in our Nationwide Insurance Ford.”
Mike Kelley on Richmond:
“We are recharged after a weekend off. Richmond drives like a mile-and-a-half track. Our short track program has improved which showed with our strong run at Bristol. Track position is crucial so we need to qualify well on Friday. We will keep making adjustments on our Nationwide Insurance Ford throughout the race and hopefully get us in position to go for the win.”
