RFR Set for 500 Laps at ‘The World’s Fastest Half Mile’
Roush Fenway Racing rolls through the Cumberland Gap to Johnson City, Tennessee, for the first time in 2019 as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) gets set to run 500 laps Sunday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway. Roush Fenway has visited victory lane 18 times at The Last Great Colosseum across NASCAR’s three major touring series.
Bristol Motor Speedway
Sunday, April 7 | 2 p.m. ET
FS1, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
· Ryan Newman, No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford Mustang
· Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 SunnyD Ford Mustang
Good Ole’ Rocky Top
It’s no secret that Bristol stands as one of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s strongest tracks, having finished top-10 in half of his career Cup races at the half-mile track. His new teammate, Ryan Newman, has finished top-10 in 53 percent of his Cup races all-time at BMS. Despite no Cup wins at Bristol, Newman does have an Xfinity Series victory (2005) as well as two wins in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (2010, 2011). Stenhouse heads into the weekend with two-straight top-fives in spring Bristol races (ninth – 2017, fourth – 2018), while Newman has an average finish of 9.5 in his last four spring events.
Runner Up
Roush Fenway’s storied history at Bristol began on April 10, 1988 with the No. 6 MENCS car earning a second-place finish. Since that time, in addition to the organization’s 11 MENCS wins at the track, Roush Fenway Fords have finished second at Bristol on 15 occasions (7 MENCS, 4 NXS, 4 NCWTS).
One-Two Punch
Roush Fenway’s most recent victory at Bristol came after sweeping the top two positions in the March 2014 event with former driver Carl Edwards taking the victory and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. coming home in second. Edwards led the final 78 laps of the event to earn the victory.
History and Hot Streaks at “Thunder Valley”
Roush Fenway’s history at Bristol has been that of hot streaks, including trips to victory lane in nine of the last 16 seasons at the famed short track. Roush Fenway swept the track in 2003 and put a MENCS car in victory lane at least once in every season from 2002-2008.
Thunder Rolls
Roush Fenway has earned five victories, 23 top-five finishes, 37 top-10 finishes and an average finish of 15.8 at Bristol in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Former Roush Fenway driver David Ragan earned the organization’s most recent Xfinity victory at the .533-mile short track in the Aug. 2009 event.
Tale of the Tape
Roush Fenway has started 328 races all-time at Bristol, recording 18 wins, 77 top-five and 132 top-10 finishes. RFR Fords have captured 18 poles at The World’s Fastest Half Mile and led more than 5,000 laps at BMS.
Where They Rank
Through seven weeks on the schedule, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., ranks 13th in driver points while Newman is 20th.
Roush Fenway Bristol Wins
1993-2 Martin Cup
1996-1 Martin NXS
1997-1 Burton NXS
1998-2 Martin Cup
2002-1 Busch Cup
2003-1 Busch Cup
2003-2 Busch Cup
2003-2 Busch Cup
2004-1 Busch Cup
2004 Edwards Truck
2005-2 Kenseth Cup
2006-2 Kenseth Cup
2006 Martin Truck
2006-2 Kenseth NXS
2007-1 Edwards NXS
2007-2 Edwards Cup
2008-2 Edwards Cup
2009-2 Ragan NXS
2014 -1 Edwards Cup
By the Numbers at Bristol Motor Speedway
Race Win T5 T10 Pole Laps Led AvSt AvFn Miles
207 11 50 86 11 98231 3396 18.2 15.7 49115.5
98 5 23 37 4 24218 1653 13.2 15.8 12109
23 2 4 9 3 4097 318 12.6 14.5 2048.5
328 18 77 132 18 126546 5367 16.3 15.6 63273
