Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Martinsville Advance
Team: No. 17 Fastenal Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Nick Sandler
Twitter: @PR17RFR, @stenhousejr, @FastenalRacing and @roushfenway
ADVANCE NOTES
Stenhouse Jr. at Martinsville Speedway
· Stenhouse has four Sprint Cup starts at Martinsville with an average starting position of 22.0 and average finishing position of 27.8.
· Stenhouse has completed 95.1% (1902 of 2000) of the laps at Martinsville.
Last time at Martinsville
After earning the lucky dog position with less than 100 laps remaining, Stenhouse lined up in the second position after a strategy call to not pit for the final five-lap shoot out. Newer tires prevailed, forcing Stenhouse to settle with a 15th-place finish; his best career finish at the half-mile track.
The Car
This chassis was raced by Edwards in both Martinsville races last season finishing 13th and 20th.
Fastenal
· Fastenal is currently in its fourth season as a primary partner in the NSCS for RFR. They spent three years on the No. 99 before jumping over to the No. 17 entry, and were the primary partner on the No. 60 XFINITY team that captured the owner’s championship in 2011.
· Fastenal will return as the primary of the No. 17 machine at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Stenhouse Jr. on racing at Martinsville:
“Martinsville is a difficult half-mile track that I have struggled at in the past. Last fall, I felt more comfortable there and could give the needed feedback to get our car dialed in. We are coming off two top-15 finishes so hopefully our Fastenal team can leave Martinsville with another top 15.”
Nick Sandler on racing at Martinsville:
“I’m optimistic heading to Martinsville this weekend. As a company, we feel that we have definitely improved our program there over the past couple of years. The key is to get your car to turn through the center but you also need to protect your rear tires on exit. We think we have a strong short track program so hopefully we can get another top-15 finish this weekend and keep working our way up in the point standings.”
