This weekend JTG Daugherty Racing fields the No. 47 Dillons® / NOS® Energy Drink Camaro at Kansas Speedway.
HARRISBURG, N.C. (September 6, 2023) – The second race of the first round of the NASCAR Playoffs at Kansas Speedway is fast approaching. 2023 DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION and NASCAR Playoffs’ contender Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the team are mentally focused on advancing into the Round of 12. He’s within striking distance entering the 1.5-mile tri-oval with the No. 47 Dillons® / NOS® Energy Drink Camaro for 400 miles on Sunday.
“If we do our job, I feel like we can transfer through rounds,” said Stenhouse Jr. “We’re focused on the first round. We’ll see where we end up after Bristol Motor Speedway and figure it out from there on out. Darlington was probably the least of the best tracks for us. I’ve ran good at Kansas before, and Bristol is my favorite track by far. I feel good about the next two races in the Playoffs and looking forward to getting on track with our Dillons / NOS Camaro.”
Primary partner Dillons, a Kroger Co. banner with 60+ stores in the state of Kansas, has a long-term relationship with JTG Daugherty Racing that activates heavily with The Kroger Co. divisions in several NASCAR markets across the country. Additionally, co-primary partner NOS has been a long-time partner of Stenhouse Jr’s in multiple racing series, and he’s ready to update his best finish of 8th-place at Kansas Speedway while going for win number four with the two entities.
“It’s special to have long-term partners in this sport and a retailer giant like The Kroger Co. and its banners,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “Our primary grocery partner at Kansas is Dillons with NOS returning as co-primary and at Texas (Motor Speedway). NOS has been a sponsor of mine since 2012 and key for me to have my dirt race team, go sprint car racing, midget racing in addition to supporting my NASCAR career. I would love to win this weekend with Dillons for The Kroger Co. and NOS, especially being in the Playoffs so we advance. It should be a good weekend for it with Mike (Kelley) and the team.”
Crew chief Mike Kelley’s driver and the race team are coming off a 16th-place finish at Darlington Raceway. They hoped for more, but the good news is that they are within striking distance of the Round of 12 and the next two tracks are historically good ones for Stenhouse Jr.
“We’re going back to a racetrack that Ricky and I have had success at before,” said Kelley. “We were able to capture a NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Kansas in 2012, and he’s been really fast there in a Cup car. We should have won the 2013 Cup race.
“Last year, we had fast cars in both Kansas races, but some things got out of the team’s control (like a flat tire) that took us out of contention,” continued Kelley. “We were not as good in the spring race as we thought we should have been, but by the end of that race we had good pace in our car. We’re really looking forward to going back there and capitalizing on what we learned. Obviously, it’s put up or shut up time. We’re done talking about it. We’re in the middle of the championship hunt. It’s real. We’re here to bust some brackets and make some noise. We’re here to prove to ourselves, our partners, and our fans that we can contend. Hopefully, Kansas will be a good race for us in this Round of 16 battle.”
Live coverage of the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway starts at 3 PM ET on Sunday, September 10 on USA, MRN and SIRIUSXM NASCAR Radio.
