Stenhouse Takes Over NNS Points Lead With Third Place Finish

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., No. 6 Cargill/Blackwell Angus Beef Ford Mustang (Finished 3^rd)

WALK ME THROUGH THAT LAST RESTART THERE. “Our plan was to just go with the 88 there. It looked like our best option. I didn’t want to be getting pushed at the line. I feel like our car was pretty fast pushing somebody it just seemed to struggle a little bit by itself. All in all it was a good day. It was cool working with Cole Whitt there, we used to race sprint cars together. He was doing everything he could to stay in line with them and we just couldn’t quite get enough there. Coming to the line I tried to swing out to get third. It was the best day for us here at Talladega and the Cargill Beef guys are here and everyone that helps us out. It was a fun race. I think the fans should have enjoyed that one.” 

TALK ABOUT YOUR STRATEGY TODAY.  “We started up front and then got shuffled to the back. I just kind of rode around and didn’t push the issue too much. When I saw things getting a little hairy I backed off and rode around. We missed some big wrecks which was huge for us and we were able to go after the win there at the end. Those two cars in front of us were just a little bit stronger.”

MICHAEL ANNETT, No. 43 Pilot/Flying J Ford Mustang (Finished 23^rd)

ARE YOU OKAY AND WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT DID YOU SEE? “I am fine, just really disappointed. We were sitting there in fifth on that final restart and got a really good push from the 18 and we shot the middle. Everyone is doing what they have to do at these races. The 33 came over to try to block us and we had such a run going that if I slammed on the brakes it was going to turn me so I just stayed in the gas and tried to shoot the whole. When it closed it was too late to do anything. Unfortunately we tore up a bunch of race cars. Everybody is trying to get everything they can on those last two laps. It is just the way this racing is.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR. POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE

TALK ABOUT YOUR RUN OUT THERE TODAY AND TAKING OVER THE POINTS LEAD.  “It was a little bit up and down. I don’t think our car was as strong as we thought it was but we will go back and get to work on it. We started up front and got shuffled to the back and worked our way back up. When it got a little dicey we rolled back to the back and made sure we got to the finish. Luckily we missed those big wrecks and that helped us out. At the end there I was trying to push Cole as hard as we could to get a draft and get up beside those guys and fan out at the finish line but couldn’t quite get there. It seemed we were running the same speed. It was a lot of fun at the end. It is crazy; it got real exciting those last few laps.”

HOW DO YOU FIGURE OUT THE RESTART AND WHERE YOU ARE GOING TO BE AND WHO YOU PUSH?  “By the way we were lined up there I knew who I was going with. It just plays out. You have to go with whoever. The two cars in front of you go and then the next two go, so I knew I was going to push Cole. There are a lot of things we learned through these races, especially these tandem ones. It is tough. If I could have talked to Cole I could have told him what I thought to do but it is his first situation there. You can get really close and sit on the outside and try to suck them apart, and I am sure that is what he was trying to do, I can’t really see from the back, so I was just pushing as hard as I could.”

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