Ricky Stenhouse Jr. held off a late-race charge from Denny Hamlin and Paul Menard to win the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wins Texas Nationwide Series event
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Menard led 100 laps, including a majority of the second half but just couldn’t catch up to Stenhouse when it mattered most. Stenhouse led when Menard could not and pulled away from Hamlin and Menard on the final restart to win his second race of the season.
Stenhouse’s victory, coupled with a 12th place finish by Elliott Sadler, moved Stenhouse to within four points of the championship lead. Sadler entered Friday with an 18 point advantage.
“I loved coming here, and we finally finished off a race,” Stenhouse said. “I felt a lot better coming into this year, obviously, with the championship from last year, but one thing that I do enjoy about this is that we’re running up front every week.
“We have a shot to win every week, and that’s all we can do, and when we can finish it off like that, it’s a positive.”
Menard finished second, with Kasey Kahne passing Hamlin for third in the closing laps. Austin Dillon ran fifth, holding off David Ragan to complete the top-five.
The complete finishing order and notes can be found after the jump.
NASCAR Nationwide Series Race Number 6
Unofficial Race Results for the 16Th Annual O'reilly Auto Parts 300 -
Friday, April 13, 2012
Texas Motor Speedway - Fort Worth, TX - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 300 Miles - Purse: $1,283,267
Unofficial Race Results for the 16Th Annual O'reilly Auto Parts 300 -
Friday, April 13, 2012
Texas Motor Speedway - Fort Worth, TX - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 300 Miles - Purse: $1,283,267
| Fin | Str | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Pts | Bns | Driver Rating | Winnings | Status | Tms | Laps |
| 1 | 3 | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Pure Michigan Ford | 200 | 47 | 4 | 136.0 | $83,843 | Running | 3 | 68 |
| 2 | 1 | 33 | Paul Menard(i) | Menards/Rheem Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | 140.6 | $56,525 | Running | 5 | 100 | |
| 3 | 8 | 38 | Kasey Kahne(i) | Great Clips Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | 115.9 | $36,825 | Running | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | 2 | 18 | Denny Hamlin(i) | SportClips Toyota | 200 | 0 | 118.9 | $32,115 | Running | 3 | 12 | |
| 5 | 4 | 3 | Austin Dillon # | American Ethanol Chevrolet | 200 | 40 | 1 | 110.4 | $37,758 | Running | 1 | 13 |
| 6 | 30 | 27 | David Ragan(i) | Mercury Ford | 200 | 0 | 87.0 | $24,015 | Running | 1 | 2 | |
| 7 | 16 | 31 | Justin Allgaier | Brandt Chevrolet | 200 | 37 | 104.0 | $28,433 | Running | |||
| 8 | 17 | 7 | Danica Patrick | GoDaddy.com Chevrolet | 200 | 36 | 82.1 | $29,658 | Running | |||
| 9 | 18 | 43 | Michael Annett | Pilot/Flying J Ford | 200 | 35 | 90.8 | $26,768 | Running | |||
| 10 | 9 | 30 | Steve Arpin | Mike's On The Rocks Chevrolet | 200 | 34 | 87.5 | $27,383 | Running | |||
| 11 | 14 | 12 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Wurth Dodge | 200 | 33 | 98.6 | $25,908 | Running | |||
| 12 | 5 | 2 | Elliott Sadler | OneMain Financial Chevrolet | 200 | 33 | 1 | 105.8 | $25,658 | Running | 1 | 4 |
| 13 | 7 | 88 | Cole Whitt # | TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet | 200 | 31 | 87.2 | $25,408 | Running | |||
| 14 | 20 | 5 | Dale Earnhardt Jr.(i) | Degree Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | 89.7 | $18,580 | Running | |||
| 15 | 12 | 20 | Joey Logano(i) | GameStop/Batman 2 DC Super Heroes Toyota | 200 | 0 | 90.7 | $18,745 | Running | |||
| 16 | 10 | 44 | Mike Bliss | TriStar Motorsports Toyota | 199 | 28 | 73.9 | $25,028 | Running | |||
| 17 | 33 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | SWM International Toyota | 199 | 27 | 69.3 | $24,218 | Running | |||
| 18 | 23 | 81 | Jason Bowles # | American Majority Toyota | 199 | 26 | 69.0 | $24,033 | Running | |||
| 19 | 24 | 01 | Mike Wallace | G&K Services Chevrolet | 198 | 25 | 66.0 | $23,698 | Running | |||
| 20 | 15 | 70 | Johanna Long # | Foretravel Chevrolet | 197 | 24 | 65.1 | $24,263 | Running | |||
| 21 | 21 | 08 | Kyle Fowler | Randy Hill Racing Ford | 196 | 23 | 55.0 | $23,478 | Running | |||
| 22 | 31 | 39 | Kelly Bires | Fenton Motors Ford | 196 | 22 | 54.7 | $16,900 | Running | |||
| 23 | 27 | 40 | Erik Darnell | TheMotorsportsGroup.com Chevrolet | 196 | 21 | 55.9 | $23,208 | Running | |||
| 24 | 42 | 14 | Eric McClure | Hefty/Reynolds Wrap Toyota | 192 | 20 | 41.2 | $23,093 | Running | |||
| 25 | 28 | 19 | Tayler Malsam(i) | G-Oil Toyota | 192 | 19 | 58.5 | $23,433 | Running | |||
| 26 | 40 | 50 | TJ Bell | Gulf Coast Software Chevrolet | 192 | 18 | 39.6 | $16,380 | Running | |||
| 27 | 38 | 52 | Tim Schendel | Metro Ministries Chevrolet | 192 | 17 | 39.4 | $16,270 | Running | |||
| 28 | 26 | 41 | Timmy Hill | Poynt.com Ford | 191 | 16 | 44.5 | $22,618 | Running | |||
| 29 | 37 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | US Petroleum Consulting Chevrolet | 188 | 15 | 51.7 | $22,443 | Running | |||
| 30 | 6 | 54 | Kurt Busch(i) | Monster Energy Toyota | 187 | 0 | 73.1 | $16,165 | Over Heating | |||
| 31 | 25 | 4 | Danny Efland | Danny Efland Racing Chevrolet | 187 | 13 | 45.2 | $22,223 | Running | |||
| 32 | 19 | 09 | Ryan Truex | Grime Boss Toyota | 182 | 12 | 67.4 | $22,113 | Engine | |||
| 33 | 41 | 24 | Benny Gordon # | Silestone/Dillon Manufacturing Chevrolet | 175 | 11 | 40.6 | $22,003 | Running | |||
| 34 | 39 | 23 | Robert Richardson Jr. | Tia Rosa/Embassy Suites Chevrolet | 169 | 10 | 40.0 | $21,893 | Running | |||
| 35 | 13 | 22 | Brad Keselowski(i) | Discount Tire Dodge | 159 | 0 | 84.8 | $15,315 | Running | |||
| 36 | 29 | 15 | Blake Koch | Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet | 92 | 8 | 49.7 | $15,205 | Accident | |||
| 37 | 11 | 11 | Brian Scott | Dollar General Toyota | 61 | 7 | 68.2 | $21,553 | Engine | |||
| 38 | 34 | 75 | Scott Riggs(i) | RWR Chevrolet | 9 | 0 | 38.9 | $15,050 | Rear Gear | |||
| 39 | 36 | 46 | Chase Miller | Key Motorsports Chevrolet | 8 | 5 | 34.6 | $14,790 | Vibration | |||
| 40 | 32 | 42 | Josh Wise(i) | Key Motorsports Chevrolet | 7 | 0 | 35.9 | $14,755 | Electrical | |||
| 41 | 35 | 47 | Scott Speed(i) | Key Motorsports Chevrolet | 7 | 0 | 34.0 | $14,720 | Fuel Pump | |||
| 42 | 43 | 74 | Kevin Lepage | Koma Unwind Chevrolet | 4 | 2 | 29.4 | $14,660 | Ignition | |||
| 43 | 22 | 10 | Jeff Green | TriStar Motorsports Toyota | 3 | 1 | 28.3 | $14,609 | Vibration |
Race Comments: Before an estimated attendance of 73,600, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300, his fourth NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. Prior to the green flag, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reason indicated: #47, 75 (missing drivers meeting; missing driver introductions).
Failed to Qualify: (2) 89 Morgan Shepherd, 72 John Jackson.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 22 Mins, 31 Secs. Average Speed: 126.301 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.434 Seconds
Caution Flags: 5 for 33 laps: Laps: 48-52 (Debris [81]); 91-94 (#22 spin frontstretch [81]); 96-103 (#15, 54 accident backstretch [44]); 163-172 (Competition [Red Flag: Lap 169, 5:27] [7]); 189-194 (Oil on track [20]).
Lead Changes: 14 among 7 drivers: P. Menard(i) 1-3; R. Stenhouse Jr. 4-48; P. Menard(i) 49-52; K. Kahne(i) 53; P. Menard(i) 54-94; D. Hamlin(i) 95-103; E. Sadler 104-107; P. Menard(i) 108-146; D. Hamlin(i) 147-148; D. Ragan(i) 149-150; P. Menard(i) 151-163; A. Dillon # 164-176; R. Stenhouse Jr. 177-194; D. Hamlin(i) 195; R. Stenhouse Jr. 196-200.
Top 10 Driver Points: (1) E. Sadler 247;(2) R. Stenhouse Jr. 243;(3) A. Dillon # 227;(4) S. Hornish Jr. 193;(5) M. Annett 183;(6) C. Whitt # 182;(7) T. Bayne 180;(8) T. Malsam(I) 163;(9) J. Allgaier 163;(10) M. Bliss 147.
3M Lap Leader : Paul Menard, #33 100 Laps Coors Light Pole Award : Paul Menard, #33 181.714 mph
Featherlite Most Improved Driver : Danica Patrick, #7 27 Places Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines, #33
Mobil 1 Oil Driver of the Race : Austin Dillon, #3 Sunoco Rookie of the Race : Austin Dillon, #3
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: Apr. 27, 2012 - Richmond International Raceway
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