Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be rolling out on some new wheels in Friday’s Subway Jalapeno 250 race.
In his second career NASCAR Nationwide Series start at Daytona International Speedway, Stenhouse will debut the No. 6 Ford Mustang, sporting the colors of its new sponsor.
"I am really looking forward to Daytona this weekend," Stenhouse said. "It is going to be the first-ever race for the Ford Mustang and we’ve got a new sponsor on the car. Blackwell Angus beef has stepped up and is on the car and it looks awesome. This is my second Nationwide race at Daytona but it’s going to be completely different than in February because of the new car. We tested the Mustang back in May and the guys worked really hard on it at the shop so it should be good. At the test, the Mustang was loose so it’s going to be interesting to see how we are when we unload for practice. Roush Fenway has never won a Nationwide Series race at Daytona so I’d love to be the one to give Jack that victory."
Crew chief Mike Kelley is wary of the challenges that come with racing a new car.
"Daytona is going to be more of a challenge than it normally is," Kelley said. "The new Mustang presents some handling concerns, but we are excited about the new car and working on making it fast. Ricky (Stenhouse) was fast during the test at Daytona back in May so we’re looking for more of the same this week. We’ve got an extra practice session so we’ll be able to see how the Mustang reacts to the changes we made after the test. This is a big race for us and our sport so we’re going to leave it all out on the track on Friday night."
The new car will also be sporting a new Ford Mustang chassis, RK-643.
In 21 career Nationwide Series starts, Stenhouse has finished in the top ten three times, and in the top five once. He currently ranks 26th in driver points after 16 of 35 races.
In owner point standings, the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing team ranks 32nd after 16 races.
