Stenhouse Jr. To Run For WoO At Riverside International Speedway
Jul 02, 2008
stenhousejr.com
West Memphis, AR— Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the current championship point leader with the ARCA Re/Max Series, will return to his roots this weekend on the dirt, competing with the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas.
Stenhouse has three career wins at Riverside International Speedway, including with the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) in 2004, during their annual Speedweek. He also picked up a win at the track with the United Sprint Car Series (USCS) during their Speedweek in 2006. He has 13 career Top-10 finishes at the ¼-mile, which is just 30 miles from his hometown of Olive Branch, Mississippi. The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series race on July 5 will be his first winged sprint car race of the season.
“It means a lot, ” said Stenhouse of returning to Riverside International Speedway. “I’ve never run a 410 there. I’ve always run 360’s, so I’m looking forward to that. We won some in the 360’s there and I’ve made a lot of laps at the track, so I think we have a good shot at a win. I haven’t run with the Outlaws in a while so I’m looking forward to that too. ”
In 10 ARCA Re/Max Series starts this season, driving for Roush Fenway Racing, the 20-year old has won twice. He picked up his first career win with the series at Kentucky Speedway on May 10, and followed it up with another victory at Pocono Raceway on June 7.
The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event at Riverside International Speedway won’t be his first start on dirt this season, as he competed two weeks ago in the Knoxville Midget Nationals at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, where he finished third in the opener and seventh in the finale. He also has raced this season on the dirt at Manzanita Speedway in a USAC Silver Crown Car earning a podium finish, as well as competing at Terre Haute in a USAC non-wing sprint car.
“A 410-sprint car is a lot lighter so the biggest thing will be trying to keep the front wheels on the ground, ” he noted. “It shouldn’t be a big transition because I’ve run a winged sprint car a lot. I hope it’s like riding a bicycle, you never forget. ”
Stenhouse has made seven career starts with the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, with his best finish coming at the famed Eldora Speedway in 2006, when he was eighth in the Knight Before the Kings Royal. He was the recipient of the Wild Card Award from the North American National Sprint Car Poll in both the 410 and 360-winged sprint car divisions in 2006. Even though he hasn’t competed with the World of Outlaws for nearly two years, he is coming to Riverside International Speedway with one thing on his mind, and that is to run up front and battle for a win.
“Most of the Outlaws guys aren’t used to a quarter-mile because they normally run a bigger track, ” he shared. “I think that might work to my advantage a little bit. My dad has a new J&J for me so we should be pretty good. ”
