Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has made Iowa Speedway’s Victory Lane a familiar haunt over the last two seasons. That’s why having the 7/8-mile track reappear this weekend on the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule is a welcome sight.
Stenhouse aims to make it four Iowa wins in a row in Saturday night’s U.S. Cellular 250 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The defending series champion swept Iowa’s two races last season in come-from-behind fashion, then put on a dominating show by leading 209 of 250 laps of his victory last May.
Chalking up another Iowa win would go a long way toward helping Stenhouse regain the series lead. Stenhouse ranks third, 13 points behind Nationwide leader Elliott Sadler and 12 points behind Austin Dillon, Sadler’s teammate at Richard Childress Racing.
“I always look forward to Iowa Speedway,” Stenhouse said. “As soon you get to the track, you can feel the high energy of the fans. Iowa is a driver’s racetrack. It’s going to be tough to win four in a row but our No. 6 team is ready for the challenge.”
Stenhouse fell into a three-race slump after his most recent Iowa victory, recording three straight finishes of 25th or worse, but the Roush Fenway Racing driver has rebounded. He carries a streak of five consecutive top-10 efforts into Saturday’s race.
The additional incentive for Stenhouse comes in the form of the final race for the lucrative Dash 4 Cash program from Nationwide. Stenhouse joins Dillon, Sam Hornish Jr. and Michael Annett as drivers eligible for a $100,000 bonus to the highest finisher among that quartet at Iowa.
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