Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Bristol Advance
Team: No. 17 Fastenal Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Nick Sandler
Twitter: @Stenhouse17Team, @stenhousejr, and @roushfenway
ADVANCE NOTES
Stenhouse at Bristol Motor Speedway
Stenhouse has seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) starts at Bristol Motor Speedway with an average starting position of 23.1 and average finishing position of 11.9.
In 2014, Stenhouse earned his career-best NSCS finish when he finished second behind former teammate Carl Edwards.
In his seven NSCS starts, Stenhouse has scored two top-five and three top-10 finishes at the ‘World’s Fastest Half-Mile’.
On the Car
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will pay tribute to the late Bryan Clauson this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway by running the Fastenal scheme that Clauson raced during the 2008 NASCAR XFINITY Series season. In 2008, Fastenal served as the primary partner for Clauson’s No. 40 Chip Ganassi machine.
Last time at Bristol
After an early spin in the 500-lap race, Stenhouse worked his way into the top 15 where he remained until the closing laps. On the final five lap shootout, Stenhouse lined up 11th behind teammate Greg Biffle on the bottom line. With no openings to move up, the high line prevailed forcing Stenhouse to settle for a 16th-place finish.
Close to Home
Crew Chief Nick Sandler grew up in Asheville, NC. Sandler earned his Mechanical Engineering degree from Duke University and is an avid Blue Devils fan.
Fastenal
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 Bristol:
“I always look forward to racing at Bristol. Bristol is one of my favorite tracks and it will be extra special this weekend to honor Bryan by running his 2008 Fastenal paint scheme. We’ve had a lot of success at Bristol in the past so hopefully we can be patient and be there at the end. As Bryan would say, hopefully we will “parked it” in victory lane.”
Nick Sandler on racing at Bristol:
“I’m definitely looking forward to this weekend. After a weekend off we are ready for this final stretch. Bristol has been a good track for us in the past, and we had a strong car there earlier this year but got stuck on the inside line at the end and lost some positions. The key is to have a car that can run the top or the bottom. We will have to be patient and make sure we execute on pit-road and I’m confident we can leave Bristol with another solid finish.”
