Stenhouse gets first career ARCA win
Sparta, KY - May 11, 2008
By: ARCA
PHOTO: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. celebrates first ARCA RE/MAX Series win Saturday at Kentucky Speedway-CREDIT: ARCA
www.arcaracing.ocm
SunTrust Rookie of the Year contender Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., in the No. 99 RoushFenway.com Ford, got the best of Scott Speed over the course of three late-race restarts to earn his career first ARCA RE/MAX Series victory in only his sixth series start Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway.
The Olive Branch, Mississippi driver not only left with the top trophy, he also left with the point lead by a slim five point margin over Frank Kimmel.
“I don’t know if it has really sunk in yet,” said Stenhouse. “I think the win probably won’t sink in until a little later on. We’ve come out here and have had good runs and to finally have a win is great. We’re coming towards the end of a long stretch of races and so hopefully after winning here we can do well at Toledo and go off on a high point before taking a few weekends off. The Roush Fenway Ford Fusion and the Roush Yates engines are awesome. We could pull up next to someone and just keep going. I’ve actually been struggling really bad on the restarts until those last few. The thing that really helped was nailing those restarts.”
Speed, who led 55 of 112 laps in the Red Bull Toyota, had a 10-length advantage over the field with less than 10 laps remaining before a series of late-race wrecks bunched the field up time and time again. Speed survived the first green-white-checkered restart, but not the second during which Stenhouse got a run and blew by on the outside. Speed would get one more chance to get the lead back on the final restart, but to no avail. Stenhouse held firm and cruised under the checkered flag .374 seconds in front of Speed, who finished second.
Surrey British Columbia driver Ryan Fischer battled back from an early-race spin to finish a career-best third in the Venturini Motorsports-TufTruckdirect.com Chevrolet. Fischer’s crew chief Billy Venturini earned the Cometic Crew Chief of the Race award as a result.
Speed’s teammate Ken Butler III, who started 20th, finished fourth in the Aaron’s Lucky Dog Dream Machine Toyota earning the Casite Hard Charger award. John Wes Townley finished fifth in the Zaxby’s-SPS-BB&T Ford.
Rookie Sean Caisse, in his first series start, was impressive earning the SIM Factory Pole Award and leading the first seven laps before Bill Davis Racing’s Michael Annett took control of the top-spot on lap eight. Annett led up through lap 31 before rookie Jake Francis marched his way into the lead on lap 39. Francis led the next 13 circuits before Speed, fresh from his one and only pit stop, passed Francis for the lead on lap 52. From there, Speed kept the field at bay, leading the way up through lap 106 before Stenhouse took control for good.
The race was extended 12 laps to accommodate the ARCA-mandated rule that no race can finish under caution. Ten cautions slowed the race for 55 laps for a variety of incidents. Despite all the cautions, only five cars were listed as ‘accidents’ on the final result sheet. There were no injuries.
The late-race restarts also played havoc with teams’ fuel mileage plans. Tom Hessert III was running third coming to the final restart when his Maaco Auto Painting Ford ran out of gas. Speed’s fuel tank also went bone-dry as the Manteca, California driver crossed under the checkered flag after stretching his final run 84 laps.
Stenhouse also earned the SunTrust Highest Finishing Rookie of the Race honors while Speed was credited with the Aaron’s Lap Leader award for leading the most laps. Francis was the Klotz Halfway Leader. Caisse posted the Accel Fastest Lap of the Race.
Top-10 ARCA RE/MAX Series Points After Drive Smart! Buckle-Up Kentucky 150 at Kentucky Speedway 1) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1365; 2) Frank Kimmel 1360; 3) John Wes Townley 1320; 4) Matt Carter 1315; 5) Tom Hessert 1295; 6) Scott Speed 1240; 7) Justin Allgaier 1230; 8) Patrick Sheltra 1215; 9) Ken Butler 1165; 10) Tayler Malsam 1140.
ARCA RE/MAX Series Returns to Short Track Racing; Hometown Toledo Speedway Up Next
From Kentucky, the ARCA RE/MAX Series is headed to Toledo Speedway for the Hantz Group 200 presented by Federated Car Care on Sunday, May 18th, 2008. Arcaracing.com will feature live timing and scoring for all ARCA RE/MAX Series on-track sessions at Toledo.
Race Results
FIN STR NO DRIVER/HOMETOWN TEAM & CAR LAPS STATUS
1 15 99 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr./Olive Branch MS RoushFenway.com Ford 112 Running
2 7 2 Scott Speed/Manteca CA Red Bull Toyota 112 Running
3 5 25 Ryan Fischer/Surrey British Columbia TufTruckdirect.com-Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet 112 Running
4 20 22 Ken Butler III/Lilburn GA Aaron's Lucky Dog Dream Machine Toyota 112 Running
5 8 09 John Wes Townley/Watkinsville GA Zaxby's-SPS-BB&T Ford 112 Running
6 21 39 Brett Hudson/Owensboro KY Fannon & Rice Cable Construction Dodge 112 Running
7 10 60 Patrick Sheltra/Indiantown FL Ferguson Pipe-FloraGanics Dodge 112 Running
8 23 11 Bryan Silas/Stuart FL Nortrax-Shell Rotella T Chevrolet 112 Running
9 4 28 Michael Annett/Des Moines IA Pilot Travel Centers Toyota 112 Running
10 17 32 Dominick Casola/Holmdel NJ A. Casola Farms Dodge 112 Running
11 6 4 Tayler Malsam/Bellevue WA Dodge Development Program Dodge 112 Running
12 22 77 Todd Hansen/Farmington MN Mad Croc Energy Drink Chevrolet 112 Running
13 11 44 Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN Ford Drive One Ford 112 Running
14 19 1 Tom Hessert III/Cherry Hill NJ Maaco Auto Painting-Boudreaux's Butt Paste Ford 112 Running
15 18 18 Billy Leslie/Algonac MI Titan Tires & Wheels Ford 111 Running
16 27 5 Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA Lucas Oil Chevrolet 111 Running
17 25 7 Frank Kapfhammer/Louisville KY Long John Silver's-Pepsi Chevrolet 111 Running
18 31 23 Donny Kelley/Humble TX Porter Glass Chevrolet 111 Running
19 12 48 Jake Francis/Painesville OH Bonner Farm-Interstate Trailer & Equipment Dodge 111 Running
20 28 47 Tom Berte/New Berlin WI CGS Premier Chevrolet 111 Running
21 14 16 Justin Allgaier/Springfield IL Hoosier Tire Midwest-AG Tech Chevrolet 110 Running
22 24 37 Dexter Bean/Westby WI Glock Chevrolet 110 Running
23 13 20 Justin Lofton/Westmorland CA Lofton Cattle Dodge 109 Running
24 34 84 Norm Benning/Pittsburgh PA Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet 108 Running
25 29 90 Gabi DiCarlo/Phoenix AZ Great Clips Toyota 107 Running
26 36 06 Tim Mitchell/Fayetteville TN Star Wheels Skate Center Ford 107 Running
27 35 26 Brad Smith/Shelby Township MI Brad Smith Motorsports Ford 107 Running
28 1 01 Sean Caisse/Pelham NH Advics Toyota 106 Accident
29 16 46 Matt Carter/Denver NC Stine Seed-Fort Dodge Animal Health-Pork Ford 98 Accident
30 3 30 Jesse Smith/Wildwood MO Lloyd's Barbeque-Spam-Hormel-Jones Group Dodge 98 Accident
31 2 00 Robb Brent/Shelby Township MI Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep Chevrolet 98 Accident
32 40 21 Todd Bowsher/Springfield OH Jack Bowsher & Associates Ford 86 Running
33 30 29 Ron Cox/Soddy Daisy TN Brown's Tax Service-East Tech Design & Mnfctrng Chevy 80 Engine
34 37 79 Mike Koch/Mountain Home AR K&K Racing-Karl's Plumbing Chevrolet 71 Running
35 33 34 Darrell Basham/Henryville IN Anti Monkey Butt Powder Chevrolet 58 Handling
36 32 24 Mike Harmon/Birmingport AL Elite 2 Racing Chevrolet 36 Accident
37 39 94 Jason Basham/Henryville IN Darrell Basham Racing Chevrolet 21 Overhtng
38 9 45 Michael Phelps/Suwanee GA Bowen Family Homes Dodge 11 Engine
39 26 14 Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL BeasleyAllen.com Attorneys Ford 8 Vibration
40 41 0 Wayne Peterson/Pulaski TN Wayne Peterson Racing Chevrolet 0 Clutch
41 38 8 Greg Seevers/West Milton OH Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet 0 Vibration
SIM FACTORY POLE AWARD: Sean Caisse 30.275 (178.365 mph)
MRGN OF VICT: .374 seconds CAUTIONS: 10 for 55 laps
TIME OF RACE: 1:53:14 AVG SPEED: 89.020 mph
LAP LEADERS: Caisse 1-7 (7); Annett 8-38 (31); Francis 39-51 (13); Speed 52-106 (55); Stenhouse 107-112 (6)
