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| Press Release |
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| Taking it to the Stenhouse |
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FEBRUARY 11, 2007 --- Ricky Stenhouse found the bottom early and held off enough competitors Saturday to win the USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series portion of the “Copper on Dirt” at Manzanita Speedway. Stenhouse, of Olive Branch, Miss., landed his first career USAC victory after weaving through traffic midway through the event – which was benefited with a long green flag run – then holding off 2005 series champion Damion Gardner and later Darren Hagen for the 40-lap victory. Stenhouse, who started eighth, drove the South Tire/Final Touch Auto Collision Center J&J/Dynotech to the checkered flag. The teenager, who was slated to start the USAC Silver Crown Series presented by K&N Engineering 50-lapper, spent much of the race on the bottom of the track conserving his tires after the middle groove had been rubbered down by the preceding laps and the Midget feature prior. He took the lead on Lap 16 from Levi Jones after several attempts on a slide job failed. Stenhouse inched Jones at the flag stand for a final time, then surged ahead. Stenhouse established more than a straightaway advantage soon after and dealt with ease – for about 10 laps – with traffic. But he suffered fits with others as the track narrowed its groove selections, and he was relegated to finding other ways of moving through the traffic. Stenhouse also benefited from a green-flag period which lasted from Laps 12 to 35, the Lap 35 caution coming out when a car stopped on the backstretch. That stoppage essentially ended Jones’s bid for the victory; he stopped just short of the pits to change a flat tire. That moved Gardner into second and Hagen into third. When racing resumed after that caution and another, Gardner quickly tried his hand at passing lapped driver Scotty Weir. He pulled the move off, as did Hagen, Tony Jones and Mike Spencer. Gardner tried passing Stenhouse on the outside of Turn 2, but slid out of the groove and nearly hit the outside wall, relinquishing second to Hagen. Hagen kept close for the next couple laps before suffering the same fate – a bobble in Turn 2. That last bobble gave Stenhouse all he needed to pull away and will by more than a second. Hagen was second, ahead of Gardner, Tony Jones and Spencer. Stenhouse said he was having tire issues near the end of the race, but was happy to accept the checkered flag. “I changed my line when I found the rubber, so I just went to the bottom and kept the car there until the end,” Stenhouse said. “Tire wear was a little bit of an issue, therefore, I just kept easing the gas. Hopefully we can do this again sometime soon.” Jones had taken the lead from Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises teammate Tracy Hines on Lap 2 of the event after Hines led the opening lap, taking the position after starting second. Jeremy Sherman had the pole and was in the Top 10 for much of the event before being placed at the tail of the field for a rules infraction involving work done on his car after the second of two horns was blown. Hagen continues to lead the point standings by two over Tony Jones heading into the Feb. 17 race at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway. |
