“Fell Asleep on the Start” – Ricky Stenhouse Jr Dissects Chili Bowl Slip-Up Amidst Hopes of a “Big Tomorrow”

Following Tuesday’s big reveal, Kyle Larson was all set to take part in the Chili Bowl. Hot on his heels was Ricky Stenhouse Jr, ready to bring back the Mississippi magic to the event. Previously, with 17 starts under his belt, Stenhouse has managed to nail three top-10 finishes. But as luck would have it, Stenhouse Jr’s bid to make it into Friday night’s A-Main at the Chili Bowl Nationals at the Tulsa Expo Center hit a snag with an early crash.

Nevertheless, he’s not throwing in the towel just yet. Stenhouse Jr is keeping his eyes on the prize, gunning for another shot to make his way into the A Main.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr reflects on a tough day with a big tomorrow in sight

Ricky Stenhouse Jr had to roll with the punches in the A-Main. Starting off in 12th place, he hit a snag right on the first lap, ending up with a busted front end and a broken left front shock, which spun him out. His crew, after a quick check, decided to call it a day, leaving Stenhouse to settle for 23rd in the 24-car lineup.

Reflecting on the race, Stenhouse said, “I’m not real sure what happened. Obviously, the heat rise was really good and the ball in fire was… I’d say fell asleep on the start, didn’t really get a good start. […] We had a lot of fun and feel like we’re a lot better finish.”

Being hopeful about the one shot he still has, he said, “So we’ll go to work tomorrow. Good news is I’m up the way very long. I get to do it again tomorrow a brand pretty far through some of these mains, you know, kind of throughout our time here in Chili Bowl. Got a big tomorrow.”

His optimism wasn’t unfounded, though. What majorly backed it was his confidence in his car and his own prowess to do well on the track.

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NO. 47 NASCAR Cup series driver sheds light on this year’s Chili Bowl track dynamics

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. recently shared his take on the new track surface at this week’s Chili Bowl. When asked about the track conditions compared to previous years he’s raced, Stenhouse gave his insight.

“I mean they were pretty consistent I felt like you know Monday to Friday the track was pretty tricky tonight the curb was big it was really really slick up to it. But it wasn’t like out by the wall I mean it was a lot lower than it was in previous nights. So it made it tricky um you know I hate that we didn’t get to run cuz I felt like what we did to our car was going to be really good and um you know. We’ll have to try again tomorrow”

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Heading into his 17th Chili Bowl Nationals, Stenhouse has a strong track record, having made the feature race eight times. He’s got his sights set on making it nine, ready to tackle the track with all he’s got.