Stenhouse, Jr Captures Kentucky 150 Win
Roush-Fenway Racing rookie Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., and his #99 Ford used a solid restart on Lap 107 of 112 to steal the race lead from Scott Speed and the No. 2 Red Bull Toyota and drive away to his first ARCA RE/MAX Series win in front of 10,273 “Drive Smart! Buckle-Up Kentucky 150” fans at Kentucky Speedway tonight.
Stenhouse, Jr., led the closing six laps before crossing the finish line ahead of Scott Speed in the #2 Red Bull Toyota. The margin marked the third-closest finish in the series 16 Kentucky Speedway races and the second straight May win for the Roush-Fenway #99 at the track. Current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Erik Darnell took top honors last season.
“We’ve had good runs the last few weeks, so to finally get a win was just awesome. It was pretty tough. I’ve never really led a restart in one of these stock cars, and, actually those last few restarts when we were behind him (Speed) were the best restarts I’ve ever had in a stock car. I’m just trying to get better ever week, and learn as much as I can,” Stenhouse, Jr., said.
“This is a special win compared to the sprint cars I’ve won in, and means the most to me to finally get a win in a stock car. I can’t say enough about this Ford Fusion and the Roush V8 Engines, they really ran down the straightaways tonight.
“There’s a lot of competition here, and a lot of good cars in the ARCA/REMAX Series, but it’s getting better and better for us every week. It was another good night for points for us, and we’re just going to try to keep the momentum up going to Toledo. . I’m just glad we got this one, and hopefully there are more to come,” he added.
Ryan Fischer took third in the %25 TufTruckdirect.com/Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet, Ken Butler III wheeled to a fourth-place finish in the #22 Aaron’s Lucky Dog Dream Machine and John Wes Townley completed the top-five in the #09 John Wes Townley Zaxby’s/SPS/BB&T Ford.
The Roush Fenway driver spoiled what looked to Speed’s night. Speed seized the race lead on Lap 52 from Jake Francis and his #48 Dodge and led until Lap 106 when his solid run was ended by a series of late cautions.
The race restarted at total of four times in the closing 14 laps. Speed managed to hold point on all but the final restart, when his car experienced mechanical difficulty.
“Our Fuel strategy was fine. The only problem was on like the original green-white-checker. We got off to a nice little lead, but we broke third gear. So, the rest of the restarts they kept doing the green-white-checker and the gear was destroyed. It was a challenge. We definitely had a fast car. We should have won,” Speed said.
Current Points Standings:
Pos Driver Points
1 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 1365
2 Frank Kimmel 1360
3 John Wes Townley 1320
3 Matt Carter 1315
5 Tom Hessert III 1295
6 Scott Speed 1240
7 Justin Allgaier 1230
8 Patrick Sheltra 1215
9 Ken Butler III 1165
10 Tayler Malsam 1140
Technorati Tags: Auto racing, ARCA RE/MAX Series, Kentucky Speedway, NASCAR, Craftsman Truck Series, Roush Fenway Racing, Ricky Stenhouse
