Despite the damage to his Fastenal Ford that was obtained in a 14 car pile-up on lap 45 in Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was working his way up through the field before cutting a tire sending him into the outside wall resulting in a 16th-place finish.
“It is crazy out there,” Stenhouse said. “We were just trying to get runs and get to the front. It was tough to get to the front tonight. We had some good runs going there and it just snapped around. I don’t know. I know nobody got into me. I don’t know if we cut a right rear or what.
“Either way, we are crashed out but the Fastenal guys did a great job tonight getting the car back together after that red flag. We had some hood damage but it was still really fast and I feel good about the cars Roush Fenway has brought down here. We learned a lot out there tonight. We will go qualify tomorrow and try to get a good lap in. I feel really good about our Fastenal Ford.”
After a fan was paired with crew chief Nick Sandler for a random draw for starting positions, the two-time Xfinity champion lined up in the 20th position for his second career Sprint Unlimited.
As cars tangled on lap 45 causing a 14 car pile-up, Stenhouse Jr. almost escaped the wreckage but obtained nose damage as a machine spun down the track.
With it being a non-points race, the No. 17 ‘Blue Team’ was allowed to work on the machine while the red flag was displayed. With the nose repaired and the red flag lifted, the Olive Branch, Miss. native restarted in the 14th position with 31 laps remaining.
On lap 62, the Fastenal Ford suddenly snapped loose causing Stenhouse to spin. With only 18 laps remaining, Stenhouse Jr. was forced to settle with a 16th-place finish.
The No. 17 team will return to action tomorrow for Daytona 500 Pole day. The qualifying session is set for 1:35 p.m. and will be televised live on FOX. The first session will be divided into two groups, with three sessions determining the front row of next Sunday’s Great American Race, as well as the order of Thursday’s Duel Qualifying races.
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