With a paint scheme and helmet honoring his good friend, an inspired Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove to a runner-up finish in Sunday’s NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dedicates runner-up Bristol finish to Bryan Clauson
Stenhouse paid tribute to his late friend with his best finish of the season.
Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Stenhouse was paying tribute to Bryan Clauson, who died two weeks ago from injuries sustained in a crash during the Belleville (Kan.) Midget Nationals. Clauson was 27.
On Sunday, Stenhouse drove a car with a paint scheme that mirrored the design Clauson had when he competed in the Xfinity Series in 2008. The Roush Fenway Racing driver also had a special commemorative pink helmet with Clauson’s initials on the side and a photo of him and Clauson on the back. Afterward, as Stenhouse stood on Bristol’s pit road talking with reporters, he wore a “BC Forever” hat.
The second-place finish equaled Stenhouse’s best career result, as he also finished second at Bristol in 2014. Kevin Harvick won the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race by a nearly two-second margin over Stenhouse.
“I know Bryan was watching and wanting us to win tonight,” Stenhouse said. “We gave it all we had.”
Stenhouse was watching the Belleville Nationals on Aug. 6 when Clauson wrecked and instantly sensed it was bad. Clauson had been leading the race when he clipped a slower car and flipping wildly, then was struck by a trailing car after coming to stop on the half-mile dirt track known for its high speeds. Clauson was airlifted to a Lincoln (Neb.) hospital and died the following day.
Since then, it’s been an emotional time for Stenhouse. He took a ceremonial lap at the Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals last weekend in the car Clauson was to drive in the prestigious sprint car race. Stenhouse attended a private funeral for Clauson on Thursday and will take part in a memorial event for Clauson at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway, regarded as Clauson’s home track, on Wednesday.
“It’s definitely been tough,” Stenhouse said. “But I think going to Knoxville and being with his family, being with his fiancé and being with friends that we all had a great time together, you know, talking about it, talking through things and talking about all the good things that Bryan did.
“If he had to choose a way to go out, I feel like that was the way he wanted.”
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