Winning a NASCAR race isn’t a one-person job. It takes a great deal of support from the driver’s team, obviously, but people often forget the commercial partners play an important role, too.
That’s why, during the Auto Club 400, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be sporting a special version of his Fastenal paint scheme.
When Stenhouse takes to the track at Auto Club Speedway for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, his No. 17 Ford will be adorned with the names of all 20,000 Fastenal employees, Roush Fenway Racing announced in a press release. The design, which was unveiled at the fastener distributor’s headquarters in Orlando, Fla., is meant to commemorate the company’s 50th anniversary.
“I am extremely honored to carry the names of the nearly 20,000 Fastenal employees on our car for the race at Auto Club Speedway this weekend,” Stenhouse said in a statement. “The history of Fastenal is a story of how vision and hard work led to tremendous growth and success. I’ve had the privilege of meeting thousands of Fastenal employees as well as the company’s founders, and they make me proud to be a part of the Fastenal team on and off the track.”
Photo via Roush Fenway Racing
Since its founding in 1967, the company has grown from a 1,000 square-foot shop in Winona, Minn., to a multibillion-dollar entity that can afford to sponsor a Stenhouse’s car in NASCAR’s premier series.
“Fastenal wouldn’t be where it is today without the hard-working people who keep driving this company forward,” Brooke Mlsna, Fastenal’s vice president of marketing said in a press release. “To pay tribute to that, we wanted to incorporate our entire ‘Blue Team’ into our anniversary car so that, as a team, we can race around the track as we prepare to race into our next 50 years of business.”
Stenhouse heads to Fontana 22nd in the standings, and will look to carry the momentum forward from his season-best fourth-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway.
Thumbnail photo via Allan Henry/USA TODAY Sports Images
