After gaining six positions in the opening laps, the Fastenal Ford wheel hopped on lap 21 sending Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for a spin. The damage was too sufficient for the crew to repair resulting in a 40th-place finish in Sunday’s Goody’s 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
“It was the same thing that happened in qualifying,” Stenhouse said afterwards. “I just got in the brakes and the rear end start hopping. You lose all grip as soon as it happens, so that seems to be a typical thing for us at Martinsville We just need to finish these races clean. I hate it for all the Fastenal guys and all of our fans.”
After posting the 25th fastest speed in practice on Friday, the Olive Branch, Miss. native was making his lap during Friday’s qualifying session when the Fastenal Ford wheel-hopped sustaining damage from the outside wall.
After going to a back-up car, the two-time NASCAR XFINITY champion focused on the setup of the Fastenal Ford for the final two practice sessions before 500 laps at the tricky paper-clipped shaped track.
After starting 39th in the 500-lap race, Stenhouse had worked his way up to the 33rd position before the Fastenal Ford once again wheel hopped sending him into the outside wall. As the crew worked surveying the damage, the machine was ruled too damaged to return to the track leaving Stenhouse with a 40th-place finish at Martinsville Speedway.
Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 17 team travel to Texas Motor Speedway next weekend for the AAA Texas 500. Race coverage starts at 2 pm EST on NBC.
RFR PR
