Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Is Already Winning As A Sprint Car Team Owner In 2018

by February 15, 2018 0 comments

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – After scoring two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins on restrictor-plate tracks in 2017, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hopes to notch his second victory at Daytona International Speedway with a win in the 60th Annual Daytona 500 on Sunday. Stenhouse, however, has already earned two victories in 2018 as a sprint car team owner, with Sheldon Haudenschild behind the wheel of the Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing No. 17 NOS Energy sprint car.

Haudenschild earned a win at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Florida on February 3 racing in the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions before following up by winning his first World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series event on February 9 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Florida.

In 2017, Stenhouse co-owned the race team with Matt Wood, with Joey Saldana behind the wheel for Stenhouse Jr. Wood Racing, before Jac Haudenschild took over the ride. The team captured one win in 2017 in a one-off race with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver and dirt racing standout Kyle Larson driving the car to victory lane at Eagle Raceway in Lincoln, Nebraska in June.

The team underwent several changes over the off-season, including a change in co-ownership with Richard Marshall pairing up with Stenhouse to create Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing, Sheldon Haudenschild taking over the wheel, as well as developing a new partnership with NOS Energy, who formerly sponsored Stenhouse during his time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and several races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

“I think we learned a lot last year throughout the whole World of Outlaws season and having Sheldon’s dad over really helped us kind of tune our cars a little bit,” Stenhouse said during Daytona 500 Media Day on Wednesday.

Stenhouse stated that the team hadn’t made any additional changes in their equipment for 2018.

“I mean, we ran the same cars that we ran the year before and we’ve won an all-star race and the first World of Outlaws race, which is super cool,” Stenhouse said. “We definitely kicked it off on the right foot. Sheldon is super pumped and ready to go.”

Sheldon Haudenschild ran his rookie season in the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series in 2017 as an owner-driver for Haudenschild Racing. Now he is able to put complete focus on getting the job done on the track with a strong team behind him.

“For him, I think the biggest thing is last year he was working on his car and driving it,” Stenhouse said. “This year, he’s just driving, so I think he was worn down a lot last year, so I think he’s gonna be even better as the season goes being able to not have to get up at 8 a.m. to work on his own car and get ready for the race. It’ll be good.”

Haudenschild is slated to run the entire World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series tour in 2018 behind the wheel of the No. 17 NOS Energy sprint car for Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing.

Photo by DB3 Imaging, provided by Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing

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