To say Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had an up and down day at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sunday is putting it mildly. After starting 11th, Stenhouse was soon inside the top 10 and looked to be a contender for the win.
His run was thwarted before the race’s halfway point.
On a restart on lap 116, Stenhouse made contact with Erik Jones. A few laps later, lap 135, Stenhouse’s Ford blew a left front tire and slammed the wall. He was able to take the mangled machine slowly to pit road where he parked it and was done for the day.
After it was over, Stenhouse out the blame squarely on Jones.
“The 20 (Jones) ran over us,” Stenhouse said. “He’s been known to do that to us a couple times now lately. He’ll get one coming his way before it’s over with, or at least before I’m through with it.”
“We had that restart with him up front and didn’t have any issues, so he’s run over us a couple times, but that’s his deal,” he said. “He’s gonna have to deal with it at some point.”
Stenhouse vowed to get back at Jones.
“I will – outside of the car or inside of the car – one of the two,” Stenhouse said. “I’m over it. We’ll see how it goes.”
Jones didn’t address the incident after the race, instead focusing on his third-place finish. Stenhouse was scored 36th.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.