Roush Fenway Dominates NASCAR Weekend; Posts Second Straight Sprint Cup/Nationwide Sweep
NEWTON, IOWA (May 22, 2011) – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took the lead from Roush Fenway teammate Carl Edwards on the restart with 18 laps to go and never looked back, powering his No. 6 Blackwell Angus Ford Mustang to his first career NASCAR victory in a solid performance at Iowa Speedway. The victory gave Roush Fenway a one-two finish, with Edwards finishing runner-up in the race.
The win capped off what might be the strongest weekend in Roush Fenway history, with Edwards winning the Sprint All-Star race on Saturday night, David Ragan winning the Sprint Showdown and all four Roush Fenway Fords finishing inside the top eight in the All-Star event.
“It means a lot,” said Stenhouse, who struggled heavily at Iowa in his rookie season. “That last caution I was doing some real praying for a good restart. Iowa was not my favorite place but it is now. We crashed three cars last year here and to come back this strong with these same No. 6 guys means a lot. We had Blackwell Angus on the car and that’s awesome. I just can’t thank Nationwide and this series and all the fans that came out here today enough for this opportunity.”
Stenhouse led 41 laps in the race, swapping the lead several times with Edwards, who led 33 laps on the day, but was unable to get around his teammate during the waning laps.
“That was as hard as I could drive,” said Edwards, who leads the Sprint Cup point standings. “The Ford Mustangs were fast today. I asked for an adjustment late that I should not have and I got really loose. Ricky was loose to, but he just did a really good job.
“Just awesome,” said team owner Jack Roush. “Ricky Stenhouse is going to be a factor in this stock car racing for many years to come; certainly long after I’m gone and I’m glad to be here for day one for him.”
Stenhouse’s win marked the second straight week that Roush Feneway has swept the NASCAR weekend in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series. It is Roush Fenway’s fourth NNS win of the season and its seventh NASCAR win this season.
Stenhouse, Roush Fenway and the Nationwide Series return to action next weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Roush Fenway boasts 10 victories in NNS action.
