07/27/2015
Stenhouse Jr. Finishes 35th At Indy After Tire Issue
SPEEDWAY, Ind. (July 27, 2015) – In only his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) start at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was running in the 18th position before suffering a flat tire which forced him to settle with a 35th-place finish in Sunday’s Brickyard 400.
“It was really hard to pass so track position was crucial,” Stenhouse said. “The restarts were the opportunity to gain some positions, so we were all battling hard and my tire got cut which forced us to pit road. We couldn’t recover from that with it being so late in the race.”
With a new aero package mandated by NASCAR, the 2013 NSCS Rookie of the Year qualified in the 29th– starting position at the esteemed Indianapolis Motor Speedway and patiently maneuvered his NOS Energy Drink Ford inside the top-25 within the first 50 laps.
With track position being crucial, crew chief Nick Sandler brought Stenhouse to pit-road for two tires in the hopes of gaining a few spots on pit-road for the final 35 laps.
On the restart, as the Olive Branch, Miss. native was jockeying for position, the right front tire was cut forcing Stenhouse to bring his NOS Energy Drink Ford to pit-road under green flag conditions causing him to lose a lap.
With differences in pit strategy and few laps remaining in the 160-lap race, Stenhouse Jr. was unable to recover, forcing the two-time XFINITY champion to settle with a 35th-place finish.
Stenhouse and the No. 17 team travel to Pocono Raceway on Aug 2, 2015 for the Windows 10 400. Race coverage starts at 1:30 pm EST on NBCSN.
