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Nationwide
NNS: Stenhouse Jr. Rallies For Victory
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. bounces back for critical win…
There were predictions that the newly repaved Kansas Speedway would be a bear this weekend.
And, indeed, the bear bit some drivers in Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 Nationwide Series race, and some of them weren’t named Brian Scott (although Scott was the central figure in three cautions).
The driver who successfully battled through a tough afternoon – the race was slowed by a record 12 caution flags, and he lost two laps – was Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who, remarkably, won the race and made gains in his run for a repeat Nationwide Series championship.
Stenhouse Jr. trailed leader Kyle Busch at the white flag, but Busch and others were playing the fuel-mileage game, and Busch lost – big. He ran out of gas along the backstretch heading toward the checkered flag, and Stenhouse raced by to take the win over Austin Dillon.
Busch finished sixth, behind Joey Logano, Elliott Sadler and Cole Whitt.
Stenhouse gained seven points on Sadler, the series leader, and trails by only six with three races remaining. Dillon, in third, is 26 points behind.
There were five cautions in the race’s first 58 laps, and spins by Scott – first in turn four and then twice on the backstretch – caused three of them.
The race’s final caution sent the event into overtime. Scott Lagasse Jr. and Hal Martin crashed in turn two with only two laps left in regulation, wiping out a .3-second lead held by Busch. The race eventually ran to 206 laps (six past regulation), putting drivers who were stretching fuel mileage at risk.
The most significant incident of the middle part of the race didn’t produce a caution, and it seemed to be a seasonal momentum-killer for Stenhouse. Stenhouse moved up the track and collided side-to-side with Logano. Both cars absorbed damage, but Stenhouse got the worse of the encounter. He pitted for repairs and lost two laps and seemingly was out of contention for the race win, not to mention in big trouble in the point race.
But Stenhouse eventually returned to the lead lap via the “lucky dog” route and raced into the top 10 over the closing miles, putting himself in position to take advantage of Busch’s misfortune on the last lap.
“I saw Kyle really shaking it down the backstraight, making sure it had fuel,” Stenhouse said. “I was able to sneak by him on the outside and get the win.
“I didn’t think we could contend for it. I was thinking top 15. One thing at a time. We were able to do that. I turn around and look up and they’re having to pit for fuel, and we’re able to stay out there. At the beginning, it was about getting as many points as we can, but things worked out. We drove as hard as we could all day. Our guys never gave up.”
Logano was upset at Stenhouse for the mid-race contact.
“We had a lot of debris on the grille,” Stenhouse said. “I thought we were getting ready to have to pit. I was trying to get behind him to get debris off. He checked up at the last second, and I drove into his side.”
Logano said Stenhouse “was tucked up so close it really made it tight. I started lifting because I was running out of real estate. He just kept on coming. I said, ‘Oh, boy,’ and then the wall came.”
Jack Roush, Stenhouse’s team owner, called the wreck “100 percent Ricky’s fault” and said he expects Stenhouse to apologize to Logano.
Busch held a half-second lead over Paul Menard with six laps left in the race, with Sam Hornish Jr. third, Dillon fourth and Sadler fifth. Stenhouse was seventh.
Then Lagasse and Martin crashed in turn two, changing the entire landscape of the race. Dillon, Sadler and Danica Patrick pitted for fuel. Busch stayed on the track to keep the lead.
Hornish ran out of fuel on the backstretch as the field was approaching the green. Menard then lost fuel pressure at the start/finish line as green-flag racing resumed and the rest of the field scattered.
Busch kept the lead under the white flag but slowed going into three on the final lap, dropping the win in Stenhouse’s lap.
“What a frustrating defeat,” Busch said. “Oh, well, you get defeated sometimes.”
Derek White, who was involved in a crash on lap 139, was transported to an area hospital for evaluation. There was no announcement concerning his possible injuries.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
And, indeed, the bear bit some drivers in Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 Nationwide Series race, and some of them weren’t named Brian Scott (although Scott was the central figure in three cautions).
The driver who successfully battled through a tough afternoon – the race was slowed by a record 12 caution flags, and he lost two laps – was Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who, remarkably, won the race and made gains in his run for a repeat Nationwide Series championship.
Stenhouse Jr. trailed leader Kyle Busch at the white flag, but Busch and others were playing the fuel-mileage game, and Busch lost – big. He ran out of gas along the backstretch heading toward the checkered flag, and Stenhouse raced by to take the win over Austin Dillon.
Busch finished sixth, behind Joey Logano, Elliott Sadler and Cole Whitt.
Stenhouse gained seven points on Sadler, the series leader, and trails by only six with three races remaining. Dillon, in third, is 26 points behind.
There were five cautions in the race’s first 58 laps, and spins by Scott – first in turn four and then twice on the backstretch – caused three of them.
The race’s final caution sent the event into overtime. Scott Lagasse Jr. and Hal Martin crashed in turn two with only two laps left in regulation, wiping out a .3-second lead held by Busch. The race eventually ran to 206 laps (six past regulation), putting drivers who were stretching fuel mileage at risk.
The most significant incident of the middle part of the race didn’t produce a caution, and it seemed to be a seasonal momentum-killer for Stenhouse. Stenhouse moved up the track and collided side-to-side with Logano. Both cars absorbed damage, but Stenhouse got the worse of the encounter. He pitted for repairs and lost two laps and seemingly was out of contention for the race win, not to mention in big trouble in the point race.
But Stenhouse eventually returned to the lead lap via the “lucky dog” route and raced into the top 10 over the closing miles, putting himself in position to take advantage of Busch’s misfortune on the last lap.
“I saw Kyle really shaking it down the backstraight, making sure it had fuel,” Stenhouse said. “I was able to sneak by him on the outside and get the win.
“I didn’t think we could contend for it. I was thinking top 15. One thing at a time. We were able to do that. I turn around and look up and they’re having to pit for fuel, and we’re able to stay out there. At the beginning, it was about getting as many points as we can, but things worked out. We drove as hard as we could all day. Our guys never gave up.”
Logano was upset at Stenhouse for the mid-race contact.
“We had a lot of debris on the grille,” Stenhouse said. “I thought we were getting ready to have to pit. I was trying to get behind him to get debris off. He checked up at the last second, and I drove into his side.”
Logano said Stenhouse “was tucked up so close it really made it tight. I started lifting because I was running out of real estate. He just kept on coming. I said, ‘Oh, boy,’ and then the wall came.”
Jack Roush, Stenhouse’s team owner, called the wreck “100 percent Ricky’s fault” and said he expects Stenhouse to apologize to Logano.
Busch held a half-second lead over Paul Menard with six laps left in the race, with Sam Hornish Jr. third, Dillon fourth and Sadler fifth. Stenhouse was seventh.
Then Lagasse and Martin crashed in turn two, changing the entire landscape of the race. Dillon, Sadler and Danica Patrick pitted for fuel. Busch stayed on the track to keep the lead.
Hornish ran out of fuel on the backstretch as the field was approaching the green. Menard then lost fuel pressure at the start/finish line as green-flag racing resumed and the rest of the field scattered.
Busch kept the lead under the white flag but slowed going into three on the final lap, dropping the win in Stenhouse’s lap.
“What a frustrating defeat,” Busch said. “Oh, well, you get defeated sometimes.”
Derek White, who was involved in a crash on lap 139, was transported to an area hospital for evaluation. There was no announcement concerning his possible injuries.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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