Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Bristol Advance
Team: No. 17 Zest Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Nick Sandler
Twitter: @PR17RFR, @stenhousejr, @ZestRacing and @roushfenway
ADVANCE NOTES
Stenhouse Jr. at Bristol Motor Speedway
Stenhouse has four Sprint Cup starts at Bristol Motor Speedway with an average starting position of 24.2 and average finishing position of 10.5.
Stenhouse earned his best Sprint Cup career finish last spring when he finished second behind former teammate Carl Edwards.
Last year, Stenhouse finished sixth or better in both races at the ‘World’s Fastest Half-Mile track.’
Last time at Bristol
When the caution was displayed with less than 69 laps remaining, the Olive Branch, Miss. native came to pit-road for four fresh Goodyear tires and a chassis adjustment to set him up for the final laps. The Roush Fenway Racing driver took the final green flag in the 12th position and quickly maneuvered his Ford up to sixth-place with 25 laps remaining. Stenhouse Jr. was reeling in the No. 41 machine but ran out of time, taking the checkered flag in the sixth position and earning his fifth top-10 finish of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
Zest
Zest is currently in its fourth season as a primary partner in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Roush Fenway. They have spent all four years on the No. 17 machine; one year with Matt Kenseth and three years with Stenhouse.
Stenhouse Jr. on racing at Bristol:
“Bristol is my favorite short-track. We had a lot of success there last year earning two top-10 finishes. We feel after our Texas finish and earning three top-15 finishes in four races that we have momentum heading into Bristol. Track position is key so we need to start near the front and stay up front, if we can do these two things I know we can leave Bristol with another strong run.”
Nick Sandler on racing at Bristol:
“We are looking forward to Bristol this weekend. It is one of Ricky’s favorite tracks and he had his career best Sprint Cup finish there last year so I think the entire No. 17 is looking forward to the race this weekend. The key is to have a car that can run the top and bottom. Our short track program has been strong so hopefully we can keep our Zest Ford Zestfully Clean and leave Bristol with a solid finish.”