DOVER, Del. – The decision to keep Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Talladega winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. out on the track on older tires quickly backfired with two subsequent crashes in Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
Following the first round of pit stops on Lap 19 of 400, Stenhouse’s crew chief Brian Pattie decided to keep the Roush Fenway Racing driver on the track, while everyone else took two or four tires.
The decision made sense for a 400-lap race with only eight sets of Goodyear tires available, but as it seemed that maybe Pattie’s decision paid off in heroic fashion on the restart, Stenhouse brought the race’s second caution on Lap 47 when his No. 17 Little Hug Ford Fusion bounced off the Turn 3 wall.
With significant right-side damage, Stenhouse pitted for repairs and returned to the race track on the lead lap.
11 laps later, however, Stenhouse appeared to lose another tire and creamed the frontstretch wall.
With more damage than the first incident, the two-time NASCAR XFINITY Series champion took his car to the garage and was done for the day.
He was credited with 39th, last in the field.
“Our Little Hug Ford was fast and on the move,” said Stenhouse. “This track is tough. We saw a few tire issues yesterday after the first run. I’m not sure if I ran over something, we’ll have to take a look at it.
“I’m looking forward in coming back here in the fall. I feel like we have a good race car and happy with what we learned this weekend.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
