Photo Credit: Justin McFarland
After a pair of top-15 finishes back-to-back, last weekend’s race at Phoenix International Raceway did not go as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hoped as he would finish 37th as a result of tire issues.
Now entering Auto Club Speedway this weekend, Stenhouse is looking to bounce back with a strong run.
“We’re back at a bigger race track, where Atlanta and Vegas were really good to us. I’m hoping for another great effort with our Fastenal team,” he stated. “I feel really strong about the direction we’re headed. Everybody is like, ‘You’re back.’ We still have a long ways to go, but I’m definitely happy about the effort and the direction that we’re going.”
Notably, though, Stenhouse has failed to post a top-10 in each of his previous Fontana starts, with a best finish of 15th last year. The weekend has started off solidly as he will start Sunday’s race from the 18th spot.
Coming back from a poor showing like last weekend, Stenhouse says no pep talk was needed as everybody understands the ups-and-downs in racing, and knows that each week is important in its own way.
“This weekend it would be nice to bounce back with a solid top-10 finish and get back to where we were running before Phoenix,” he commented. “I believe we can do that. I talked to my guys after the race last weekend and just said, ‘Hey, we’ll get ‘em next week.’ That’s what you’ve got to do. It’s no different than a golfer. If you have a bad hole, you’ve got to move on to the next one and that’s what we’re gonna do this weekend.”
Despite last weekend not going as planned, Stenhouse noted that the team learned some things that they can improve on their cars moving forward.
“The things that we take away from last weekend is how can we not blow a right-front tire next time,” he commented. “The good news is we had really good speed. We qualified well and qualified in the top-10, so that’s something you can take away as well. You have to take the positives and the negatives and work it out, and come back to the next short track and be ready for it.”
