After making slight contact with the wall causing a tire rub in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. battled back from two laps down to finish 19thin his Cargill Beef/Sam’s Club Ford.
”Our Cargill Beef/Sam’s Club Ford was really fast on the long run,” Stenhouse said. “We were really loose one run which caused me to get into the outside wall and caused a tire rub forcing me to bring our Ford to pit road. I’m proud of our No. 17 team for fighting to get us back on the lead lap. Obviously not the day we wanted but we are definitely making gains on our cars.”
The two-time NASCAR Nationwide champion started Sunday’s 267-lap race in the 23rd position and patiently maneuvered his Cargill Beef Ford up to the 16th position before making contact with the outside wall on lap 112. The contact forced Stenhouse to bring his machine to pit road for two tires under green.
Despite being two laps down for the unscheduled stop, the Olive Branch, Mississippi native was running similar lap times as the top-10 cars.
After taking the wave around to get one lap back, Stenhouse Jr. bullied his way into the lucky dog position and caught a break when a caution was displayed for a spin by the No. 32 machine.
Back on the lead lap with less than 70 laps remaining, the 2013 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year restarted 22nd and worked his way up to 16th place before the final adjustment caused the Cargill Beef/ Sam’s Club Ford to be too loose for Stenhouse’s liking forcing him to settle with a 19th-place finish.
Stenhouse and the No. 17 team travel to Charlotte Motor Speedway next weekend for the Bank of America 500. The race is set for Saturday, Oct. 11. Coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. (EST) on ABC.
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