04/01/2015
Stenhouse Jr. Finishes 40th At Martinsville
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (March 29, 2015) – After a spin on lap 206 suddenly sent the Fastenal Ford to the garage, the Fastenal blue team worked feverishly to repair the mangled machine. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was able to pick up two additional positions after returning to the track to take the checkered flag in the 40th place during Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway.
“That’s definitely not the finish we wanted for our Fastenal Ford,” Stenhouse said. “I feel bad for my guys because they work really hard but we will take a weekend off and then head to Texas.”
After a spin by the No. 51 occurred in front of Stenhouse on his qualifying laps in segment two on Friday, the two-time XFINITY champion settled for a 23rd-place starting position.
When the first yellow flag was displayed on lap 10, the Olive Branch, Mississippi native had worked his way inside the top-20 but on lap 20 the Fastenal Ford wheel hopped sending the machine spinning.
After restarting in the 43rd position, Stenhouse patiently maneuvered his Ford up through the field to the 24th position by lap 100 on the half-mile paper-clip shaped track.
While battling an ill-handling machine, the 2013 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year spun in turn three making contact with the outside wall which sent him to the garage for repair.
The hasty work by the Fastenal Blue team allowed Stenhouse to return to the track and to gain two additional positions by the time the checkered flag waved.
Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 17 team return to action April 11 at Texas Motor Speedway for the Duck Commander 500. Race coverage starts at 7:30 pm EST on FOX.
