BRISTOL, Tenn. (Aug. 20, 2017) – After a punctured tire sent the Fastenal Ford into the outside wall on lap 200, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. overcame adversity to earn a 14th-place finish in Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“We battled back from a blown right-front and then the last stop they said I was a little too fast on pit-road,” Stenhouse said. “We had to make up a lot of ground. Our Fastenal Ford was really good. It’s just a bummer. I feel like we didn’t get an opportunity to go race for a win there with the speeding penalty, but the guys gave me a good car, so you’ve got to be happy about that.”
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After earning his best starting position in his past three starts at the ‘World’s Fastest Half-Mile’, the Olive Branch, Miss. native quickly gained six positions in the first four laps working his way inside the top 10.
When the first caution was displayed on lap 61, Stenhouse was battling a tight handling condition. After restarting in the 14th position due to an issue with the jack during the pit-stop, the two-time XFINITY champion settled with a 12th-place finish in stage one.
After patiently maneuvering his Ford inside the top 10, Stenhouse punctured his right front tire sending the Fastenal Ford into the outside wall. With less than 50 laps remaining in stage two, crew chief Brian Pattie ensured that the fenders were clear and made a plan to repair the damage during the stage break.
After restarting in the 22nd position, Stenhouse was working his way thru the field when a multi-car accident occurred near the front causing the Fastenal Ford to sustain nose damage due to contact with teammate Trevor Bayne. After making multiple pit-stops under the caution, Stenhouse restarted in the 21st position, the last car on the lead lap.
In the final stage, the Roush Fenway Racing driver patiently maneuvered his Ford up to 11th place before having to fall to the tail end of the field due to a speeding penalty on the final pit stop. Stenhouse gained six positions in the closing laps to take the checkered flag in the 14th position.
Next up for the MENCS is Darlington Raceway on Sunday, September 3.
