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Stendhouse Jr. - Dover Ford interview

Dover International Speedway

Edited: Jun 1, 2018, 12:58 PM

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Roush Fenway Racing are teaming up this weekend to bring attention to relief efforts for those affected by the recent flooding of the Mississippi River. Stenhouse, a native of Olive Branch, Mississippi, is sporting a special hood on the No. 6 Ford Mustang this weekend that will be autographed by Stenhouse Jr. and auctioned off through the NASCAR Foundation in an effort to generate additional revenue for the cause. Stenhouse talked with Ford Racing about the devastation in his home state that he witnessed first hand recently.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Photo by: Ashley Dickerson, ASP Inc.

YOU WERE BACK IN YOUR HOME STATE RECENTLY AND SAW HOW THE FLOOD HAS AFFECTED THE AREA. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE? “I went down there for Mothers Day and I knew how much it had been raining and talking to my parents about it but it was nothing like when you get down there and see it. I drove around and looked at some of it and it is really bad. I called and asked if we could do something for it since we don’t have a sponsor on the car I felt it was a perfect opportunity to help the people from Mississippi, especially since I am from there. It is an honor to be able to help them out.”

WHEN YOU SAY THE DAMAGE, WHAT WAS THE FIRST THING THAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND? “I was just thankful that my parents were okay. We are far enough away from the river that we don’t have any problems but some people aren’t so fortunate. You have the casino under water and all those people are out of work now. Farmers have crops that are destroyed and their equipment and houses are ruined. People can’t live in their homes. The first thing I thought was that I was fortunate that nobody in my family was affected by it, but the whole state of Mississippi and all the way down the river is affected. It isn’t just Mississippi either, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas and a bunch of other areas are affected by this. Being that I am from Mississippi I felt like I needed to help them out.”

HOW DOES THAT CONVERSATION GO TO GET THIS SPECIAL HOOD SCHEME? DID YOU HAVE TO CONVINCE JACK? “No, I don’t go to Jack and ask that. The sales team and marketing team do a good job with putting stuff like that together and of course I have no idea how to do that stuff. They have done a good job with it and it shows that Roush is supporting it and NASCAR is supporting it and so am I. I didn’t need to call Jack, but if I had, I know for sure he would have been in full support right away because he is in full support of what we are doing this weekend.”

No, I don’t go to Jack and ask that.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

HOW CAN PEOPLE HELP FROM HOME THAT SEE THIS HOOD DRIVING AROUND DOVER THIS WEEKEND? “They can go to www.nascar.com/unites and there is a page there that you can go on. There is a certain page where you can go and give for the Mississippi relief efforts directly. That is one way to do it. I also know the American Red Cross is doing a lot with this too. I am going to sign the hood and auction it off after the race and I am going to give my portion of the winnings this weekend to the cause as well.”

OTHER THAN BRINGING AWARENESS TO THE CAUSE THIS WEEKEND, WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN THIS RACE THIS WEEKEND? “I have only ran here twice and I feel like we have gotten better each and every time. The concrete tracks have been a struggle for me but we ran well at Nashville and Bristol this year. If you take those two tracks and look at them we finished fifth and we were running second at Bristol so we have good hopes for this weekend. We have worked really hard on the setup this weekend and all the engineers are doing simulations and throwing everything at it. Hopefully we have a good package to start with. We don’t get much practice here which is tough. We have to keep clicking off top-10’s and when we have a top-five car like at Darlington and Richmond where we made mistakes, including me getting in the wall at Darlington which cost us a top-five finish. When we have a top-five car we have to make sure that is where we finish.”

-source: ford racing

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