Ricky Stenhouse Jr –Pocono 400 Advance
Team: No. 17 Zest Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Mike Kelley
Primary Chassis: RK- 902 – last raced at Darlington– finished 20th.
Backup Chassis: RK-888 – last raced at Bristol – finished second.
ADVANCE NOTES
· Stenhouse Jr. at Pocono Raceway
o Stenhouse has two Sprint Cup starts at Pocono Raceway with an average starting position of 16.5 and average finishing position of 30.0.
o Stenhouse has two ARCA starts at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ including one win in 2008.
· The Car
o Chassis RK-902 is the same chassis that the No.17 team ran at Darlington Raceway where they finished 20th after being awarded the lucky dog beneficiary twice during the race.
o The backup Chassis RK- 888 is the same chassis that the No. 17 raced at Bristol earning their highest finish of the season.
· Zest
o High Ridge Brands is the name of the parent company/private equity firm.
o Zest’s first year in NASCAR was 2012 when they sponsored the No. 17 Ford.
· Pennsylvania native
o Front mechanic, JT Lasky, grew up in Johnstown, PA which is approximately three hours away from Pocono Raceway.
Stenhouse Jr. on racing at Pocono:
“Last year was the first time I had raced at Pocono in the Cup car and I felt like I learned a lot during those two races. Pocono was recently repaved which has made it a fast triangle-shaped track. Pocono is tricky because all three corners are different. After last weekend it would be great if we could leave Pocono with a top-10 finish.”
Mike Kelley on racing at Pocono:
“Pocono is unique triangle track that is very challenging with three different corners and a very long straightaway. Last year was Ricky’s first time there in a Cup car so I think we should definitely be stronger going into Pocono this season. The race is 400 miles so we will keep adjusting on our No. 17 Zest Ford and hopefully be in contention at the end of the race.”
