DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.— For the second time in a row at a restrictor-plate event, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was victorious in the Coke Zero 400 from Daytona International Speedway.

 

“Wow, these guys. I kept my Talladega car and told them to build a new one. They build the Fifth Third Ford that was really fast. We won the Firecracker 400! This is awesome! I have been coming here since 2008. I actually came in 2006 one time with Bobby Hamilton Jr. and it is cool to put it in victory lane and get our second win this year. I love it! Thank you to the fans for coming out here. Everyone at NASCAR. What a great weekend. America. 1776. We are the champs!,” said Stenhouse Jr. post race.

It only took Stenhouse Jr. seven races to win his second career Cup race. This was Stenhouse Jr.’s seventh top-10 of 2017. This marks the 137th victory for Jack Roush at the Cup level.  This marks Ford’s eighth Cup win of 2017.

 

Clint Bowyer finished second after contending for most of the race at the front of the field

 

“Wow, what a night. A fun race. Our Mobil 1 Ford was strong. I got shuffled out on that second stage and that bummed me out. I wanted those stage points. It wasn’t that big a deal because I knew that we had a hot rod to get back up front. Man, it’s just every man for himself. You’re beating and banging Both sides are ground off my car. Good night. This bridesmaid deal sucks. I want to win. We’re in this business to win. That’s what Tony and Gene pay me to do. I’m proud of everyone on the Mobil 1 Ford team,” said Bowyer.

 

Paul Menard was “Mr. Where did he come from?” tonight at Daytona. Menard was able to finish third at Daytona.

 

“We really didn’t want to hang out in the back, but we got involved in a wreck really early and once you get back there, it is really hard to get back up to the front. I was just waiting for something to happen at the end of those stages. We weren’t in the top-15 so I just bailed out of the pack for the stages.  I had a really good handling car from yesterday in the draft practice,” said Menard. “All weekend long it handled really well. I knew it would race really well tonight.  Bowyer gave me a hell of a push that last lap. I wasn’t very good at leading, being the first guy in a line. With Ricky (Stenhouse) breaking the air, I couldn’t run off to the start/finish line.  We just have to keep doing this. If you run in the top–five you put yourself in position for wins. We definitely had a shot tonight, I just couldn’t get a run off of turn four even with Bowyer pushing me. I just didn’t have the run I had the lap before. I thought we had a chance to win this one, just couldn’t get the run.”

 

There were 33 lead changes among 16 different drivers. The caution flag flew for a record 14 times for 51 laps, while the red flag was displayed once. The average speed was 123.986 mph. This became the longest Coke Zero 400 at three hours, 17 minutes, and 12 seconds. The margin of victory was 0.213 seconds.

 

Kyle Larson leads Martin Truex, Jr. by 18 points in the standings.

 

Next up for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is a trip to Kentucky Speedway for the Quaker State 400. The race will be broadcasted on NBCSN and Performance Racing Network beginning at 7:30 p.m. EDT on July 8th.

Caleb Whisler
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