Team: No. 17 Fastenal Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Brian Pattie
Twitter: @Stenhouse17Team, @stenhousejr, @FastenalRacing and @roushfenway
ADVANCE NOTES
Stenhouse at Chicagoland Speedway
Stenhouse has four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Chicagoland Speedway with an average starting position of 14.8 and average finishing position of 17.0.
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.
NASCAR Playoffs
With his two wins earlier this year, Stenhouse advances to the NASCAR Playoffs. He currently is in the eighth seed in the Round of 16. #17in17
Last year at Chicagoland
With the race going green for numerous laps and differing pit sequences, Stenhouse fell two laps down to the leaders early on. After taking the wave around twice to get back to one lap down, the two-time XFINITY champion needed another caution but unfortunately, the race stayed green forcing Stenhouse to pit-road for a scheduled pit stop.
When the final yellow flag waved sending the 267-lap race into overtime, Nick Sandler called Stenhouse to pit-road for four tires and to repair the right side damage on the Fastenal Ford. Stenhouse lined up in the 26th position for the final shootout and gained one position in the closing laps to take the checkered flag in the 25th position.
On the Car
Fastenal is currently in its sixth 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:
“We tested at Chicagoland last month and thought we learned some things for the first race of the playoffs. Chicagoland is a rough track with a lot of character. Overall Chicago has been a good track for me so I’m looking forward to the race this weekend and hopefully kicking the playoffs with a solid finish.”
