Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Martinsville Advance
Team: No. 17 Fastenal Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Nick Sandler
Twitter: @Stenhouse17Team, @stenhousejr, @FastenalRacing and @roushfenway
ADVANCE NOTES
Stenhouse Jr. at Martinsville Speedway
Stenhouse has seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) starts at Martinsville with an average starting position of 21.9.
Last weekend at Talladega
After running in the top-10 for a majority of the race, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove his Zest Ford to a fifth-place finish in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Talladega Superspeedway after a late-race caution sent the race into overtime.
Last time at Martinsville
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove his Ford to a 32nd-place finish after an incident on lap 138 left severe damage on the left side of the Fastenal Ford Fusion and put Stenhouse a lap down to the leaders.
Virginia Native
The engine tuner on the No. 17 machine since 2013, Jonathan Salmons, grew up in Bassett, Virginia which is approximately 15 miles north of Martinsville Speedway.
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 Martinsville:
“Martinsville is a difficult half-mile track that I have struggled at in the past. In the spring, we qualified 13th and were running really well so I’m hoping for that to continue this weekend. The No. 16 team tested there a few weeks ago so we will look at their notes. It’s a long race so if I can stay patient and keep our Fastenal Ford damage free then we should be able to leave Martinsville with a solid finish.”
Nick Sandler on racing at Martinsville:
“I’m looking forward to Martinsville this weekend. The No. 16 team tested there a couple weeks ago and felt like they gained some speed from the spring and were really happy with their Ford. The key is to get your car to turn through the center. Like typical short track racing anything can happen so if we can stay out of trouble and mistake free then we should have a decent finish.”
