Ricky Stenhouse Jr Out of Contention at Bristol as Massive Stack up Collects Multiple Cars

It’s no secret that the 2024 season hasn’t kicked off with the results that Ricky Stenhouse Jr wanted from the #47 Chevrolet Camaro belonging to JTG Daugherty Racing. Apart from the top-ten finish at Atlanta, the 36-year-old’s season thus far has been nothing but tumultuous. After finishing well outside the top fifteen at Vegas, Stenhouse Jr had his eyes set on redemption at Bristol Motor Speedway. Unfortunately, it all went wrong for the #47 on lap 176 out of 500.

Coming out of turn 4, Daniel Hemric and Zane Smith went three-wide, making contact with Michael McDowell. The stack-up involved multiple cars, taking out Ricky Stenhouse Jr in the process. Taking to X, Dustin Albino revealed the JTG Daugherty driver’s frustrations.

Stenhouse Jr is currently running 21st after the incident. But what might’ve added to the #47’s frustrations could be that Michael McDowell’s Ford sat safely in the top ten. Fortunately, Stenhouse Jr still fared better than Z. Smith and D. Hemric, chasing the field back in P29 and P28, respectively.

While McDowell finished just outside the top ten, Stenhouse Jr was slowly making a comeback toward the front as well. Unfortunately, today wasn’t the JTG Daugherty squad’s day. As Stenhouse Jr approached Austin Cindric’s rear bumper, the #47 was caught off guard. The #2 Mustang Darkhorse of Austin Cindric entered into the turn, going three wide with Stenhouse Jr and Todd Gilliland.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough room, leading to a dismal end to Stenhouse Jr’s outing at the Bristol Motor Speedway. The #47 came home in 33rd, a result that Stenhouse Jr would rather forget. However, the incident could have also ended the race with heartbreak for Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell.

Stenhouse Jr’s misery could’ve translated to heartbreak for Joe Gibbs Racing

When Ricky Stenhouse Jr was lining up with Austin Cindric and Todd Gilliland, the trio were a lap down on front-runners, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, and the remaining top-five. So the contact between Cindric and Gilliland ultimately had a domino effect on Stenhouse Jr, sending him spinning into a multi-car stack-up. And the leaders were fast approaching right at that minute.

Denny Hamlin was hot on the #47’s tail, giving Stenhouse Jr a bump around the outside to help speed things up. However, Gilliland’s #38 was a sitting duck on the turn, and #2 and #47 tried their best to get around his car. Unfortunately, as Stenhouse Jr and Cindric tried making space in the front, the #2 tapped the #47, sending him spinning out.

While Hamlin safely made it through, the #47 slowly slid toward the pit lane as the front-runners behind Hamlin were approaching the corner. Christopher Bell had to take the outside line while Ty Gibbs squeezed past the gap between Stenhouse and the Pit wall.

Although the incident ended with heartbreak for Stenhouse Jr, it could have collected three of Joe Gibb’s top cars. However, Stenhouse Jr will be aiming to rewrite the script at COTA.

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