Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Phoenix Advance
Team: No. 17 Cargill/Fry’s Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Mike Kelley
Primary Chassis: RK- 882 – last raced at Loudon 2 – finished 39th.
Backup Chassis: RK- 877 – last raced at Loudon – finished ninth.
· Stenhouse at Phoenix
o Stenhouse has three career starts at PIR, completing 940 of 940 laps (100%) with an average starting position of 20.0 and average finishing position of 15.3.
· The Car
o Chassis RK-882 is the same chassis that the team raced at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when Stenhouse got caught in the middle of four wide racing resulting in a left front fender rub that eventually blew the tire sending the Ford to the garage. With 40 laps remaining, the crew was unable to repair the mangled machine forcing Stenhouse to settle for a 39th-place finish.
· Last Time at Phoenix
o After going a lap down early on in the race, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. battled back to get back on the lead lap with 27 laps remaining in the 312-lap race. Despite battling an ill-handling race car for a majority of the race, the 2013 Sprint Cup rookie of the year maneuvered his Ford to an 18th-place finish.
· Cargill Beef
o Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world. Together with farmers, customers, governments and communities, they help people thrive by applying their insights and nearly 150 years of experience. Cargill has 143,000 employees in 67 countries who are committed to feeding the world in a responsible way, reducing environmental impact and improving the communities where they live and work. Cargill is also one of the largest beef producers in the U.S. For more information, visit Cargill.com and News Center.
o Cargill previously partnered with Stenhouse and NASCAR champion crew chief Mike Kelley during the duo’s back-to-back NASCAR Nationwide Series Championships in 2011 and 2012. Cargill first joined Roush Fenway Racing during the 2010 season.
Stenhouse on Phoenix:
“I’m looking forward to racing at Phoenix this weekend. Phoenix is a tough one-mile track and the key is to get your car to turn through the corners. We will focus on getting a good starting spot as track position is crucial. I feel confident we can leave Phoenix with a solid finish.”
Kelley on Phoenix:
“We’ve had some good runs at other short tracks this season so I believe that we will have a strong showing at Phoenix this weekend. The key to Phoenix is to get your car to turn through the center so we will work on that during our practice sessions and hopefully leave Phoenix with another top-10 finish.”
