Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – New Hampshire Advance
Team: No. 17 Fastenal Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Nick Sandler
Twitter: @Stenhouse17Team @stenhousejr @FastenalRacing and @roushfenway
ADVANCE NOTES
Stenhouse Jr. at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Stenhouse Jr. has six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with an average starting position of 23.5 and average finishing position of 22.7.
One Year Ago at New Hampshire
When the caution flag waved on lap 237, crew chief Nick Sandler called the Olive Branch, Miss. native to pit road for two tires gaining six positions on pit road. Track position is crucial but four tires prevailed costing Stenhouse a few positions in the closing laps.
Fuel mileage became a factor at the end of the race. Stenhouse Jr. was able to gain three positions in the closing laps as some of the leaders ran out of fuel coming to the checkered flag to finish in the 13th position.
New Hampshire Native
Chris Church, a diehard Boston RedSox fan, grew up in Haverhill, MA, which is a little over an hour from NHMS.
On the Car
Fastenal is currently in its fifth 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.
Stenhouse Jr. on racing at New Hampshire:
“We always look forward to racing at New Hampshire because it is the home track for Fenway Sports Group. We’ve had some good runs at New Hampshire in the past so I look to continue that success this weekend. New Hampshire is a fast one-mile track with multiple grooves. After last weekend, we need to have a strong run this weekend in our Fastenal Ford.”
Sandler on racing at New Hampshire:
“We’ve had some success on the short tracks this season so we are looking forward to racing at Fenway Sports Group’s home track. We ran solidly in the top-10 last year but had an issue on pit road when the lug nut knocked the valve stem off causing a flat tire. Track position is crucial so we will focus on qualifying on Friday and make sure we get a good starting position. I think if we can execute on pit road and keep dialing in our Fastenal Ford throughout the race then we should be able to leave Loudon with another top-10 finish.”
