Ricky Stenhouse Jr. found pay dirt, literally, on Friday night at Deep South Speedway in Loxley, Alabama.
The NASCAR Cup Series competitor, who started from the pole in the 360 Sprint Car event, scored the victory in the 25-lap feature. Greg Wilson finished runner-up, while Max Stambaugh, Mark Smith and Danny Smith rounded out the top-five finishers in the 19-car field.
@StenhouseJr won night one of the @uscsracing Clash at the Gulf at Deep South Speedway in Loxley, AL on Friday night pic.twitter.com/aJDVtFmumf
— uscsracing (@uscsracing) March 20, 2021
Stenhouse and the NASCAR Cup Series head to a date with dirt next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, and while many have been penciling Kyle Larson as the favorite to win that race (rightfully so), Stenhouse could surprise. He’s always had great speed at the traditional Bristol Motor Speedway, but his expansive history in dirt competition should give Stenhouse a little bit of a mental advantage over most of the field heading into the Dirt Race at Bristol.
After five races in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Stenhouse sits 16th in the championship standings. While Stenhouse has not put up any jaw-dropping performances, he has also done a great job minimizing mistakes. Despite having no top-10 finishes this season, Stenhouse has worked his way up the standings by finishing 11th to 18th in every race so far this season.
Say what you want, but a consistent Stenhouse who makes far less mistakes than expected could be a dangerous thing for other aspiring Playoff contenders as the season rolls on.
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