Top Dog: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Well, that was wicked.
After a tough stretch to start the season, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. landed back in the top 10 last week at Iowa Speedway in fifth. To do it back-to-back required him to overcome a wild rotation of weather and the tightrope of wet-weather tires at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday (June 23).
Oh, and let’s not forget the weekly test of putting a complete race together too.
Fortunately, despite a cycle of weather that could have made one lose their sanity, Stenhouse was up for the task, finishing seventh for his second consecutive top 10.
Initially, that feat wasn’t on the horizon, as Stenhouse fell from 13th to 24th in what was setting up to be a rather calm and swift race.
Stenhouse caught a break in stage two by running long during a green flag pit stop cycle when a caution flew for Daniel Hemric on lap 142. The break allowed Stenhouse to pit and stabilize inside the top 20. However, the lobster of New Hampshire pinched back, as the No. 47 fell to 28th by the end of the stage.
The Olive Branch, Miss. native flirted with the top 20 in the final stage when an anticipated storm system finally touched down, bringing out the red flag. With periods of heavy rain, lightning and a severe thunderstorm warning in the area, all of the ingredients were coming together for an premature ending, and thus a 24th-place finish by Stenhouse.
However, in an unexpected move, NASCAR waited just over two hours and got the track dry enough to break out the wet-weather tires. That gave Stenhouse a chance to advance forward, but he remained stagnant in the short term.
On lap 265, it was Stenhouse’s race that looked like it might come to an end when Noah Gragson spun into Bubba Wallace, sparking a pileup in turns 1 and 2. Stenhouse slammed on the brakes and made slight contact with Austin Cindric but was able to keep the car clean.
Ultimately, the wreck set up a clinic for Stenhouse. His knack for aggression came in handy over the course of several restarts in the final 40 laps, allowing him to move forward and clinch a career-best finish at New Hampshire.
As mentioned last week, it is win or bust for the 36-year-old to return to the playoffs for a second consecutive season…
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