05/29/2016
Stenhouse Jr. Finishes 15th in his 125th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Start
CONCORD, N.C. (May 29, 2016) – In his 125th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) start at the same track as his first start, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove his Fastenal Ford to a 15th-place finish after being a lap down in Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. With his solid 15th–place performance, Stenhouse moves up one position in the driver point standings, just 10 points shy of 16th place.
“We really struggled with the handling on our Fastenal Ford tonight,” Stenhouse said. “Our team is definitely improving especially if we are upset with a 15th-place finish. All of our Roush Fenway Racing Fords showed speed in qualifying so we have the speed now we just need to work on the handling. All in all it was a good week for us between the Fastenal renewal announcement and a top-15 showing.”
After earning his best starting position of the NSCS season, the two-time XFINITY champion lined up in the third position but lost a few positions early on before the competition yellow due to a tight handling machine.
With only four cautions and long green flag runs, the Olive Branch, Miss. native lost a lap to the leaders with less than 100 laps remaining in the 400-lap race. With only 14 cars on the lead lap, a much needed caution came out on lap 339 granting Stenhouse the lucky dog position.
Lining up at the tail end of the lead lap, the 2013 NSCS Rookie of the Year lined up in the 15th position but the race went green for the final 56 laps causing Stenhouse to settle with a 15th-place finish.
Next up for Stenhouse and the No. 17 team is the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, June 5. Race coverage begins at 1:00 p.m. on FOX Sports 1. Coverage can also be heard on MRN and SIRIUS radio channel 90.
