Team: No. 17 Fastenal Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Brian Pattie
Twitter: @Stenhouse17Team, @stenhousejr, @FastenalRacing and @roushfenway
ADVANCE NOTES
Stenhouse at Chicagoland Speedway
Stenhouse has five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Chicagoland Speedway with an average starting position of 14.8 and average finishing position of 18.6.
In 2012, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dominated the final 20 laps of the Xfinity Series race and in the process earned Roush Fenway Racing’s first ever NASCAR win at the 1.5-mile tri-oval of Chicagoland Speedway.
Last year at Chicagoland
With stage one and two going caution free, Stenhouse was unable to get his two laps back to the leaders after making contact with the outside wall early on. After taking the wave around at the start on stage three, Stenhouse caught a lucky break when the caution waved allowing him to get one lap back.
On the final green flag pit-stop, Stenhouse was served with a speeding penalty while exiting pit-road, causing him to bring his Fastenal Ford to pit-road for a pass thru penalty. With the race staying green for the remainder of the day, Stenhouse was able to pick up two more positions in the closing laps due to fresher tires to take the checkered flag in the 25th position.
In the Points
Stenhouse currently sits in the 17th position, just 17 points out of 16th place, with 10 races remaining before the Playoffs kick off.
This Week
Stenhouse and the No. 17 team are participating in the two-day test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
On the Car
Fastenal is currently in its seventh season as a primary partner in the MENCS 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 Chicagoland:
“Chicago has been a decent track for me over the years. I just made too many mistakes last year and cost us a decent finish. We have been working really hard on our intermediate program so I’m looking forward to getting to Chicago this weekend. It’s a rough track with a lot of character. Overall, we need to have a strong showing to gain some points on the final transfer spot for the Playoffs.”
