Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wants a checkered flag for Christmas – well, sort of. The Roush Fenway Racing driver will get back behind the wheel this Saturday, going back to his short-track, open-wheel roots in DuQuoin, Illinois. Stenhouse will compete in the fifth annual Great Clips Battle at the Center on the one-sixth Mini-Magic Mile at the Southern Illinois Center, located on the grounds of the DuQuoin State Fair. The Battle at the Center is a non-points all-star race put on by the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series. It’ll be Stenhouse’s second bid to win at DuQuoin, having finished second in the inaugural Battle at the Center in 2010. He’ll be driving for Bryan Clauson Racing as a tune-up of sorts for next month’s Lucas Oil Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Okla., from Jan. 12-17. It’ll be Stenhouse’s third try to win the Chili Bowl, having finished ninth in 2012, but failed to advance out of the B feature last year. (NBC Sports)(12-20-2014)
UPDATE: Going back to his midget car roots, NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. shook off a couple of late-race mishaps to finish eighth in Saturday’s fifth annual Great Clips Battle at the Center at the Southern Illinois Center of the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. Joey Saldana of Brownsburg, Indiana, led the last five laps of the 40-lap main event around the 1/6-mile racetrack to take home the victory in the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series event. Bryan Clauson finished second, followed by Justin Peck, Spencer Bayston, Daniel Robinson, Andrew Felker, Kevin Ramey, Stenhouse, Tim Siner and Jody Rosenboom. On Lap 26, as Stenhouse tried to make a run for the lead, he was involved in a four-car tangle involving race leader Clauson, Christopher Bell (running second at the time) and 2012 POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series champ Andrew Felker. With three laps left in the race, Stenhouse was collected in a six-car pileup that ended his hopes of a top-five finish, but still managed to wind up with a decent eighth-place showing in the 21-car field.(NBC Sports)(12-22-2014)
