CONCORD, N.C. (May 24, 2015) – After battling back from being one lap down and maneuvering his Fastenal Ford up inside the top-20, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was running in the 16th position before a mechanical issue sent him to the garage for repair. Thanks to the hasty work by the No. 17 team to repair the issue, Stenhouse Jr. was able to return to the track and pick up two positions in the final laps, salvaging a 37th-place finish inSunday’s Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“I’m disappointed because we were going to have a decent finish,” Stenhouse said. “Our Fastenal Ford was probably the best it had been all weekend and we were slowly making our way up through the field. Hopefully we will get this misfortune behind us soon. We are definitely making improvements within our organization which shows with Greg’s (Biffle) great run tonight. We will go to Dover and try to bounce back.”
After battling an ill-handling machine in qualifying on Thursday evening, the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year started the longest race of the season in the 29th position but quickly marched his way up through the field gaining seven positions in the first six laps.
After going a lap down due to a long green flag run, Stenhouse Jr. earned the lucky dog award with a little over a hundred laps remaining.
In the final 100 laps, the two-time XFINITY champion was scored in the 16th position when suddenly his Fastenal Ford shot into the outside wall in which Stenhouse reported that he lost his brakes. After diagnosing the issue on pit road, they told Stenhouse to take his machine to the garage for repair. The crew’s speedy repair allowed Stenhouse to pick up two positions once returning to the track but left Stenhouse with a 37th-place finish when the checkered flag waved.
Next up for Stenhouse and the No. 17 team is the FedEx 400 at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, May 31. Race coverage begins at 1:00 p.m. on FOX Sports 1. Coverage can also be heard on MRN and SIRIUS radio channel 90.
