After earning a career high 11th-place starting position at the ‘Magic Mile’, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. cut a tire sending the Fastenal Ford into the outside wall forcing him to settle with a 36th-place finish in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
“The No. 20 got into us and I guess it cut our left front,” Stenhouse said. “We were just struggling with our Fastenal Ford. We were looking to just make it to the end of the stage and work on it again and make some more adjustments, but, all in all, a pretty frustrating day. We had a decent run here last year, but it’s definitely not the day we wanted. We didn’t want it to end this way, but we’ll move on and go to next week.”
After earning a career best 11th-place starting position at Loudon, the Olive Branch, Miss. native steadily ran in the top 15 until the first caution flag waved on lap 45. Despite battling a tight machine, crew chief Brian Pattie made a strategy call taking two tires lining Stenhouse up on the outside of the front row for the restart.
Even though Stenhouse lost a few positons on the start due to fresher tires, the two-time Xfinity champion maintained running his fastest lap of the race only eight laps in after the restart. As the run progressed and the handling faded, Stenhouse took the first green-checkered flag in the 20th position.
After making a lengthy pit-stop in hopes to help the tight Fastenal Ford, Stenhouse restarted in the 20th position. The Roush Fenway Racing driver was racing for position when contact was made with the No. 20 machine cutting the left-front tire sending the Fastenal Ford hard into the outside wall ultimately ending his day forcing him to settle with a 36th-place finish.
Next up for Stenhouse and the No. 17 team is Pocono Raceway. The Gander RV 400 is scheduled for Sunday July 28, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. EST on NBCSN. Race coverage can also be heard on MRN and SIRIUS XM Channel 90.
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