Honoring NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip’s1997 paint scheme during Darlington Raceway’s Throwback weekend, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove his Fifth Third Ford to a 29th-place finish after sustaining damage early on in Sunday night’s Southern 500.
“I feel like something always happens here at Darlington,” Stenhouse said. “We never get to show our true potential. It was definitely a long night for our team, but we have one more weekend to get out any kinks and get prepared for the playoffs.”
After barely missing advancement to round three of qualifying on Saturday afternoon, the Olive Branch, Miss. native lined up in the 14th position and quickly gained three positions in the first 10 laps.
On lap 40, the Fifth Third Ford got loose sending Stenhouse into the outside wall. The crew worked feverishly to repair the right side damage under the caution but ended up losing one lap to the leaders.
Throughout the remainder of the 367-lap race, the team continued to work on the damage and the handling of the Fifth Third Ford. Despite being multiple laps down, Stenhouse was able to gain eight positions taking the checkered flag in the 29th position.
The No. 17 team heads to Richmond International Raceway for the final race before the playoffs begins. The Federated Auto Parts 400 will be televised on Sept. 9, 2017at 7:30 pm E.T on NBCSN. Race coverage can also be heard on Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SIRIUS channel 90.
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