Catchfence

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

The Driver… Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who now leads the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings by five points, will make his second NASCAR Nationwide Series start Auto Club Speedway on Saturday afternoon. In February, Stenhouse started 26th and finished 39th after getting caught up in an accident.

The Organization… Roush Fenway Racing has six wins, 19 top five and 30 top 10s in 49 Nationwide Series starts at Auto Club Speedway. Stenhouse joins teammates Carl Edwards, Paul Menard, Trevor Bayne and Colin Braun in the CampingWorld.com 300 on Saturday afternoon.

The Machine… Blackwell Angus Beef will adorn the No. 6 Ford Fusion this weekend in Fontana for the third of four races in 2010. CitiFinancial is the primary sponsor for 24 races in 2010 with Stenhouse. The team will use chassis #RK-357 in Fontana. Stenhouse raced this chassis at Las Vegas where he finished 30th. This chassis was also used by Stenhouse in Darlington (37th) and Gateway (9th).

On Air… The CampingWorld.com 300 can be seen live on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010 on ESPN2 with coverage beginning at 4:00 p.m. EDT. The event can also be heard live on MRN affiliates beginning at 4:00 p.m. EDT.

Now Appearing… Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be appearing at the Ford Display for a Q&A session on Saturday, Oct 9, 2010 from 11:50 a.m. – 12:05 p.m. local time. Stenhouse will also be visiting the Fan Zone on Saturday from 12:10 p.m. – 12:25 p.m. local time. Both appearances are open to the public.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on racing at Auto Club Speedway:

“With the way we have been running lately, I can’t wait to get to California this weekend. We’ve got Blackwell Angus Beef back on the car on Saturday and we’re looking to keep up our string of top-10 finishes with them. We’ve finished third in Daytona and 10th in Atlanta with their colors on our No. 6 Ford, so I’m looking for big things in California. After our strong sixth-place run last week in Kansas, we’ve taken the lead in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings which is awesome. It would be a huge honor for me and everyone at Roush Fenway Racing if we won it, so we’ve got to keep working hard for the rest of the year.”

Crew Chief Mike Kelley on racing at Auto Club Speedway:

“We are taking chassis number 357 this weekend and I can’t wait to see how fast it is when we hit the track on Friday. It’s been a good car for Roush Fenway Racing. The guys have worked so hard on making these cars fast and Ricky (Stenhouse) has improved so much as driver since the beginning of the season. We’ve been running consistently near the top 10 every week and I have no reason to believe we won’t be there this weekend in California. Ricky has the lead in the rookie of the year deal and it’s everyone’s goal to keep him there for the rest of the season.”

- Roush Fenway Racing Press Release