After battling back from one lap down, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. restarted ninth on the final green-white-checkered attempt but newer tires prevailed forcing Stenhouse to settle with a 13th-place finish in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Kansas Speedway. With four straight top-15 and six straight top-20 finishes, Stenhouse jumps two positions in the NSCS driver standings to 25th.
“We had a few hiccups today but battled back to get another solid finish,” Stenhouse said. “I’m really proud of our Fastenal team. We’ve been making gains and this is our fourth straight top-15 finish. We need to finish these next five races off strong and carry this momentum into the off season.”
The Olive Branch, Miss. native started the 267-lap race in the 18th position but his Fastenal Ford struggled on the restarts, luckily as the run progressed Stenhouse was able to make up lost track position.
When the caution flag was displayed on lap 242, the two-time XFINITY champion earned the ‘lucky dog’ position. Crew chief Nick Sandler called Stenhouse to pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires for the final 25 laps.
When the final yellow flag was displayed, Stenhouse Jr. stayed out while a few cars came to pit road. For the final green-white-checkered attempt, the Fastenal Ford lined up in the ninth position but the cars with newer tires prevailed forcing Stenhouse to settle with a 13th-place finish.
RFR PR
