Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to run full-time in 2013 Sprint Cup Series – NASCAR news
After claiming consecutive Nationwide Series titles, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be moving to the top level of NASCAR, the Sprint Cup Series as a full-time driver.
Stenhouse Jr. will race the Roush Fenway Racing No.17 Ford and will be replacing Matt Kenseth. The 25-year-old Mississippi driver is excited about his move up the ladder but he does realise that in order to be successful at the top level, he will have to
work big time on his patience.
“I still don’t have the patience I need. The way I drove in sprint cars over two years, we either won or had spectacular crashes. Although the patience I have learned the last couple years is definitely better than 2010, but it still needs to get better,”
Stenhouse Jr. said.
Very early in his career, Stenhouse Jr. had to bear the cost of aggressive driving when he was benched by Roush Fenway Racing owner Jack Roush after a series of crashes. However, when Stenhouse Jr. got his second chance, results were better than before.
Over the past three years, Stenhouse Jr. has enjoyed a very successful run in his NASCAR career. He won the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year award, clinched the 2011 Nationwide Series title and gave his fame a great boost after winning the
Nationwide title for the second time.
Stenhouse Jr. had planned not only to defend his title in 2012 but to further improve his performance than last season. Consecutive Nationwide Series champion did quite well.
“Consecutive championships are really cool. I feel like this one was more special than the last one just because we performed a lot better. Although we gave up some points we probably didn’t need to, but it all worked out,” Stenhouse Jr. said.
In 2012, Stenhouse Jr. won six races, at Las Vegas, Texas, Iowa, Atlanta, Chicago and Kansas respectively, 4 times more than 2011. He also improved on his top-5 finishes increasing the number from 16 to 19.
Stenhouse Jr. has a very bright NASCAR future ahead of him. He just needs to capitalise on the chance he has got.
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