Ricky Stenhouse Jr. held off Roush Fenway teammate Carl Edwards at Iowa Speedway to record his first Nationwide Series win.
Stenhouse led the final 18 laps in a race dominated by the Ford Mustang drivers. Brad Keselowski finished third in a Dodge.
"It means a lot," said Stenhouse, explaining "that last caution I was doing some real praying for a good restart. Iowa was not my favorite place but it is now. We crashed three cars last year here and to come back this strong with these same No. 6 guys means a lot."
Ricky Stenhouse led 41 laps in the race, swapping the lead several times with Carl Edwards, who led 33 laps on the day, but was unable to get around his teammate during the waning laps.
"That was as hard as I could drive," said Carl Edwards, who won the Saturday night’s Sprint Cup All-Star race in Charlotte. "The Ford Mustangs were fast today. I asked for an adjustment late that I should not have and I got really loose. Ricky was loose to, but he just did a really good job."
Brad Keselowski, the only other Sprint Cup driver to make the long trip to race said "our car was good, but not great. The two Fords were really fast today and we just didn’t have enough at the end to make a run at them. A strong day for our race team and I’m happy for Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.) to get the win. He’s a class act and has worked his tail off to enjoy this win."
Elliott Sadler, who finished fifth, leads the standings by seven points over Reed Sorenson who finished fourth, both drove Chevrolets. Stenhouse lurks in third place eight points out of the lead.
Stenhouse led the final 18 laps in a race dominated by the Ford Mustang drivers. Brad Keselowski finished third in a Dodge.
"It means a lot," said Stenhouse, explaining "that last caution I was doing some real praying for a good restart. Iowa was not my favorite place but it is now. We crashed three cars last year here and to come back this strong with these same No. 6 guys means a lot."
Ricky Stenhouse led 41 laps in the race, swapping the lead several times with Carl Edwards, who led 33 laps on the day, but was unable to get around his teammate during the waning laps.
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| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. leading Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski - Photo: nascar.com |
"That was as hard as I could drive," said Carl Edwards, who won the Saturday night’s Sprint Cup All-Star race in Charlotte. "The Ford Mustangs were fast today. I asked for an adjustment late that I should not have and I got really loose. Ricky was loose to, but he just did a really good job."
Brad Keselowski, the only other Sprint Cup driver to make the long trip to race said "our car was good, but not great. The two Fords were really fast today and we just didn’t have enough at the end to make a run at them. A strong day for our race team and I’m happy for Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.) to get the win. He’s a class act and has worked his tail off to enjoy this win."
Elliott Sadler, who finished fifth, leads the standings by seven points over Reed Sorenson who finished fourth, both drove Chevrolets. Stenhouse lurks in third place eight points out of the lead.