BRISTOL, Tenn. (August 23, 2015) – In his 100th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) start, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. salvaged a 21st-place finish in Saturday night’s IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“My guys worked really hard on our Fastenal Ford,” said Stenhouse. “We had a good run going, but I got too aggressive early on and I feel like I cost us a better finish. This weekend definitely showed the strength of Roush Fenway’s short track program and I’m looking forward to going to Darlington in a few weeks.”
After leading Roush Fenway’s qualifying effort on Friday, the two-time XFINITY Champion started eighth and climbed his way up to seventh place before the handling on his Fastenal Ford turned deadly loose causing him to lose some positions early on in the 500-lap race.
With the race having long green flag runs, the Olive Branch, Miss. native lost a lap early on to the leader but was awarded the ‘lucky dog’ on lap 125.
Five laps after the restart on lap 379, Stenhouse was jockeying for position when contact was made causing the Fastenal Ford to spin bringing out the yellow on lap 384. With minimal damage to the right side of the Fastenal Ford, the crew worked feverishly to keep Stenhouse inside the top-20.
After restarting in the 19th position, but at the tail end of the field, Stenhouse worked his way up to 18th before losing a few positions in the closing laps to take the checkered flag in the 21st position.
The NSCS has a weekend off before heading to Darlington. The Bojangles’ Southern 500 will be televised on Sept. 6, 2015 at 7 pm E.T on NBC. Race coverage can also be heard on Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SIRIUS channel 90.
