Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Coca-Cola 600 Advance
Team: No. 17 Fastenal Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Nick Sandler
Twitter: @PR17RFR @stenhousejr @FastenalRacing and @roushfenway
ADVANCE NOTES
Stenhouse Jr. at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Stenhouse Jr. has six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway with an average starting position of 22.5 and average finishing position of 22.0.
The two-time XFINITY series champion made his first Sprint Cup start at Charlotte in 2011 in the famed No. 21 finishing an impressive 11th; his best Sprint Cup career finish at the 1.5-mile track.
Last year’s Coca-Cola 600
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was running in the top-25 before suffering a pit-road mishap causing damage to the front fender of his Fastenal Ford. After numerous pit-stops to repair the mangled machine, Stenhouse battled back to take the checkered flag in the 26th position.
“600 Miles of Remembrance”
Stenhouse and the No. 17 Fastenal Ford will participate in “600 Miles of Remembrance” on Memorial Day Weekend to honor military service members and their families.
CPT Browning will replace ‘Stenhouse Jr’ on the windshield of the No. 17 Ford.
Browning joined the 363rd Fighter Squadron while it was in training at Tonopah Nev. He was assigned to flight with Bud Anderson (WWII veteran and longtime friend of Jack Roush) both in training and in combat. Jim named his P-51 Mustang “Gentleman Jim”. Captain Browning finished his first tour in August 1944 and returned to the 363rd in November and started his second tour. On Feb. 9, 1945 he was reported Missing in Action when he failed to return from an escort mission. He was last seen near Wurges, Germany. Captain Browning’s flight was engaged in a fierce dog fight with ME-262’s, and he was involved in a fatal mid-air collision with a ME262. He had two more missions to fly to complete his second tour. Captain Browning’s decorations include three Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Purple Heart, eight Air Medals and the French Croix de Guerre. (bio attached)
Fastenal
· Fastenal is currently in its fourth season as a primary partner in the NSCS for Roush Fenway. 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.
· Like in past years, Fastenal will run a patriotic scheme this weekend to honor Memorial Day.
Stenhouse Jr. on racing in the Coca-Cola 600:
“I’m looking forward to our longest race of the season. We all look forward to racing at Charlotte, our home track, in front of many friends and family and want to take home the trophy. The track time we got from the Sprint Showdown is very valuable. It’s a long race so we will keep adjusting on our Fastenal Ford and hopefully have a solid run on Sunday night.”
Sandler on racing in the Coca-Cola 600:
“We learned some things last weekend during the Showdown that should help us this weekend. The Coke 600 is a long race. It starts when it’s daylight and ends at night so you don’t want to overadjust too early in the race as the track will continue to change. Our mile and half program has been improving so hopefully we can leave Charlotte with a strong finish.”
