03/02/2019
Stenhouse, Pattie Bring Confident and Aggressive Attitude to No. 17 Team
LAS VEGAS (March 2, 2019) – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. likes the way he’s starting off the 2019 NASCAR season. The driver sits 10th in the points going into this weekend’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. But while he is happy with his place in the standings, he’s not satisfied with last week’s 18th-place finish at Atlanta.
“I was really excited about the race at Atlanta and the speed that we brought,” Stenhouse told SiriusXM’s Claire B. Lang. “We showed that we were really competitive, qualified really well and my mistake on pit road cost our whole team, organization and sponsors a good shot at running well inside the top-10 for sure. That was a bummer.”
Stenhouse has made it to the final round of qualifying at every track so far this season. He’ll roll off the grid eighth in Sunday’s race at Las Vegas and seems confident in the speed his car has shown.
“We brought some speed the last two weeks to the race track and I think that’s the reason why people are talking about us,” Stenhouse explained. “Good, bad or ugly that’s just the way it goes sometimes.”
It’s easy to see that the No. 17 team has a renewed focus. Their approach for the rest of the season is to stay confident and competitive. From crew chief Brian Pattie all the way down to the crew guys, Stenhouse says his team is in it to win.
“Brian brings me a lot of confidence,” Stenhouse said. “Just this week he was at the shop with the guys helping them finish out cars and get things loaded up to head out to Vegas. I was out there working with them. It was all hands on deck. We believe in each other on this team.”
Pattie agrees that the team’s attitude is in the right place. Particularly when it comes to Stenhouse behind the wheel.
“He’s confident,” Pattie said. “I want someone that’s eager and greedy. We’re going to continue to work hard, get aggressive and see where it shakes out.”
Stenhouse, Pattie and the No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang team return to the track this Sunday, March 3 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
