08/16/2019

‘World’s Fastest Half Mile’ on Deck as Playoff Picture Heats Up

Roush Fenway Racing heads to Rocky Top this weekend as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) makes its return trip to Bristol Motor Speedway for 500 laps under the lights Saturday night. An RFR Ford has visited victory lane 18 times at The Last Great Colosseum across NASCAR’s three major touring series.

Bristol Motor Speedway

Saturday, August 17 | 7:30 p.m. ET

NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

• Ryan Newman, No. 6 Acronis Ford Mustang
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang

Good Ole’ Rocky Top

Roush Fenway rolls into Bristol with confidence knowing Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has six top-10 finishes in 13 starts at the track, with four of those top-five results. His teammate, Ryan Newman, is coming off a top-10 at the short track in the spring and overall has 19 top-10s in 35 starts. The two have 10 combined top-10s alone in the past nine Bristol races, while overall Stenhouse holds an average finish of 13^th. Despite no Cup wins at Bristol, Newman does have an Xfinity Series victory (2005) as well as two wins in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (2010, 2011).

Runner Up

Roush Fenway’s storied history at Bristol began on April 10, 1988 with the No. 6 MENCS car earning a second-place finish. Since that time, in addition to the organization’s 11 MENCS wins at the track, Roush Fenway Fords have finished second at Bristol on 15 occasions (7 MENCS, 4 NXS, 4 NGOTS).

One-Two Punch

Roush Fenway’s most recent victory at Bristol came after sweeping the top two positions in the March 2014 event with former driver Carl Edwards taking the victory and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. coming home in second. Edwards led the final 78 laps of the event to earn the victory.

History and Hot Streaks at “Thunder Valley”

Roush Fenway’s history at Bristol has been one of hot streaks, including trips to victory lane in nine of the last 16 seasons at the famed short track. Roush Fenway swept the track in 2003 and put a MENCS car in victory lane at least once in every season from 2002-2008.

Thunder Rolls

Roush Fenway has earned five victories, 23 top-five finishes, 37 top-10 finishes and an average finish of 15.8 at Bristol in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Former Roush Fenway driver David Ragan earned the organization’s most recent Xfinity victory at the .533-mile short track in the Aug. 2009 event.

Tale of the Tape

Roush Fenway has started 328 races all-time at Bristol, recording 18 wins, 77 top-five and 132 top-10 finishes. RFR Fords have captured 18 poles at The World’s Fastest Half Mile and led more than 5,000 laps at BMS.

Where They Rank

• Newman enters the weekend 16 points to the good in the playoff picture, sitting 15^th with three races left in the regular season. He’s 10 points ahead of Clint Bowyer (16^th) and 16 ahead of Daniel Suarez (17^th).
• Stenhouse likely needs a win at one of the next three events, currently sitting 21^st in points.

Roush Fenway Bristol Wins

1993-2    Martin       Cup

1996-1    Martin       NXS

1997-1    Burton       NXS

1998-2    Martin       Cup

2002-1    Busch         Cup

2003-1    Busch         Cup

2003-2    Busch         Cup

2003-2    Busch         Cup

2004-1    Busch         Cup

2004        Edwards    Truck

2005-2    Kenseth    Cup

2006-2    Kenseth    Cup

2006       Martin      Truck

2006-2    Kenseth    NXS

2007-1    Edwards    NXS

2007-2    Edwards    Cup

2008-2    Edwards    Cup

2009-2    Ragan         NXS

2014 -1  Edwards    Cup