In the backyard of Ford Motor Company and Roush Industries, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. suffered a flat tire with less than 60 laps remaining in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway resulting in a 28th-place finish.
“We struggled this weekend with overall speed,” Stenhouse said. “We started the race really tight and were making gains on our Fastenal Ford before we got a flat tire. I think we are all looking forward to getting to Bristol as our Ford was really strong there in the spring.”
In the Irish Hills, the two-time Xfinity champion lined up in the 18th position for the 200-lap race. Stenhouse worked his way up to 15th before falling a few positions due to a tight handling machine. With the first stage going caution free and differing pit strategies playing out, Stenhouse took the first green-checkered flag in the 24th position.
After working his way inside the top-15 before bringing his Fastenal Ford to pit-road for a scheduled two tires and chassis adjustment stop, Stenhouse Jr. was working his way back through the field when the yellow flag was displayed just five laps shy of the end of stage two. Crew chief Brian Pattie chose to bring Stenhouse back to pit-road for left side tires. In the final two lap shootout of stage two, the Olive Branch, Miss. native picked up five positions taking the second green checkered in the 16th position.
After restarting in the 19th position with 60 laps to go, Stenhouse was jockeying for position when he made contact with a competitor causing his left rear tire to go flat triggering him to spin bringing out the caution on lap 148.
With the remainder of the stage going caution free, Stenhouse was forced to settle with a 28th-place finish.
Next up for Stenhouse and the No. 17 team is the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, August 17. Race coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.Coverage can also be heard on PRN and SIRIUS radio channel 90.
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