09/18/2015
High Hopes for Stenhouse Jr. At Chicagoland
JOLIET, Ill. (Sept. 18, 2015) – Chicagoland Speedway has been an exciting track for Roush Fenway Racing driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as the driver of the No. 17 Fastenal Ford Fusion prepares to make his eighth NASCAR touring series start and third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) start at the 1.5 mile tri-oval.
“Chicagoland has been a really good track for me,” said Stenhouse, who is hoping to find success there this weekend.
He comes into this weekend’s NSCS race with a strong track-record at Chicago. In the NASCAR XFINITY Series, he’s had five starts resulting in 1 win, 1 top-5, and 3 top-10s. His win, which came in Sept. 2012, was the first for Roush Fenway Racing at the Illinois track. Taking the green flag from the third position, Stenhouse was able to work his way into the race lead with 20 laps to go and never look back..
“I remember in 2012 we didn’t have the best car, but we kept working on it and with good pit calls we were able to come through with a win” says Ricky. “It was a huge honor to get Jack’s first NASCAR win there.”
The Chicago victory was Stenhouse’s fifth of the 2012 XFINITY Series campaign and ultimately helped catapult him to his second XFINITY Series championship.
Stenhouse hopes that past XFINITY Series success can translate into the NSCS race this weekend. In two previous NSCS starts in Chicago, Stenhouse qualified inside the top five in both races, earning a top-10 finish (eighth) in his first start here in 2013. Then, in the 2014 event, Stenhouse was collected in an on-track incident with 10 laps remaining that ultimately led to a 17th-place finish. Despite the result last season, Stenhouse is confident that he can have a solid run on Sunday afternoon in the No. 17 Fastenal Ford.
“Hopefully we can run well and get Jack his first Cup win there this weekend,” says Stenhouse as he looks forward to Saturday’s race at Chicagoland Speedway.
