Ricky Stenhouse Jr. must really like Iowa. On Saturday, he raced the No. 6 team to a first-place finish, marking his second win at Iowa this season.
But the victory, the 12th for Roush Fenway this season, didn't come before one of the more exciting and unpredictable finishes you'll ever see.
Stenhouse and Roush teammate Carl Edwards battled throughout the race, but Stenhouse was able to use a dramatic three-wide move to maneuver his way through traffic and eventually pass Edwards with 22 laps remaining.
But the action only picked up from there.
It looked as if Stenhouse would cruise to victory, but a mechanical issue forced his No. 6 Mustang to stop short of the finish line on the last lap. Edwards approached the disabled car but was unable to navigate through the thick smoke.
Edwards crashed into Stenhouse's car just short of the finish line, which sent both cars spinning sideways across it. When all was said and done, Stenhouse Jr. picked up the win, while Edwards finished second — both with severely damaged cars.
"I don't think anyone's finished one-two with two torn-up race cars like that, so congrats to Jack (Roush)," said Edwards. "I hoped he would be out of the way when I got there and I would drive around him. I have to thank Fastenal for being a part of this. It was a huge day. It's fun to come here and race in front of this crowd and a great race for Ricky even with his problem there at the end."
All three Roush Fenway Ford Mustangs led in the race, with Edwards leading a race-high 109 laps. Stenhouse led 25 laps, while Trevor Bayne, who started second, led seven laps.
With the win, Stenhouse extended his Nationwide Series points lead to 12 points.
