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Ricky Stenhouse Jr is coming off a career year after a career year. Pretty good, wouldn't you say? He had his best season (at the time) in 2016, where he impressed a lot. What does he go out and do? He have a even better season in 2017 and scores his first two career wins.
Intermediate tracks will be good and bad for Stenhouse Jr in 2018, but the past two seasons he has proven that he can be a very consistent driver. I think we have to bank on that consistency for him to have any real constant fantasy value. We like predicable in fantasy nascar and Stenhouse Jr will deliver that, too. His best three intermediate tracks (in my opinion) are Atlanta, Kansas and Texas. One of three, I would have to say that Atlanta is his best one of those tracks. In 5 career starts, he has posted 19.0 average finish and that includes an 36th place finish back in 2015. In his four other career races, he has finished 20th or better in every race. He has been very competitive over the past two seasons here. He has finished 10th and 13th in 2016 and 2017 races. Statistically based on performed, they also were very strong races for him. He performed very well in the low-teens for the event and that alone should tell you should about him. In my opinion, Atlanta is just one of those tracks that fits perfectly in his driving style.
Kansas is another really good track for Ricky and he has plenty of experience here. In 6 of his 10 career starts, he has finished in the top 20. In 4 of his last 5 starts at Kansas, he has finished 19th or better. He has finishes of 11th, 19th, 13th and 13th in those four finishes. In last fall's race, he finished 29th. In that event, he crashed into the wall and then dragged his side against the wall for about half a lap. Obviously he had something going wrong, prior to hitting the wall. Regradless, the results ended up being the exact same for him. That would end up eliminating him from the championship and advancing to the next round.
Charlotte is another solid track for him and he has been really good lately here. In his last 5 starts here, he has finished 20th or better in all five races. In 4 of those 5 races, he has finished 15th or better. Including finishes of 13th and 15th during the 2017 season. In his first three starts with the #17 car at Charlotte, he had no finishes better than 24th. Since then, he doesn't have any outside of the top 20. It really shows the improvement that RFR has made since latter part of the 2015 season. This is one of the greatest example of that!
Bristol is a really strong track for Ricky Stenhouse Jr and I would go far as saying it his best track so far in his career. I guess the plate tracks would put up a tough fight for that title, but outside of that, I don't think another track comes close. Ricky is a stud at Bristol and his numbers can back that up, too. Earlier in his career, I thought he was bit of a fluke. But as the races go by, it is hard to argue that he is just that good here. In 10 career starts, he has finished in the top 10 five times. That's 50% of the time and he also has posted 3 Top 5 finishes. That's 30% of the time! In 7 of his last 8 races here, he has finished in the top 16. In 5 of his last 8 races here, he has finished in the top 9. Including in 2 of the last three races overall. In his last three races, he has finishes of 14th, 9th and 2nd. He has been at least a top 15 driver on pure performance in all three races, in my opinion. That's a very good sign for him in 2018 and beyond!
Martinsville is one of his worst tracks on the schedule, despite a career-year at the paperclip in 2017. He posted two top 10 finishes of 10th place in 2 races during the 2017 at Martinsville. Prior to that, he had one career top 15 (15th place) in his first 8 races. During that 8-race span, he posted just 2 finishes in the top 25. And they were 15th and 25th. They came in 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Shorter flats will be a very interesting place for him in 2018, but I still think RFR is a working progress on this type of track. I would have to say that New Hampshire has been the kindest to him over the past couple seasons. In his last 6 races at New Hampshire, he has compiled 5 finishes of 17th or better. Yes, that's pretty damn good! He's very consistent at New Hampshire of late. This is something he has struggled to do in general on this type of track so far in his career. In his last 5 races at this track, he has finished 4 of 5 races in the top 15. He swept the top 15 with finishes of 14th and 15th in 2017.
New Hampshire may had been more kind to him over the past couple seasons, but I think Phoenix is his BEST shorter flat. In 2017, he was really good and he has been at his best at this place throughout his career. In 2017, he finished 8th and 4th. Prior to that he had three straight finishes of 23rd or worse. In 7 of his 10 career races at Phoenix, he has finished 18th or better. And there is Richmond, where he has had his issues at. Ricky has had been inconsistent at times, but he isn't terrible here. In 4 of his last 5 races, he has finished 19th or better. In 5 of his 10 career races at Richmond, he has finished in the top 19. I would like to see him consistently contend for those top 15, but isn't too far off of that. Just need a little more work here overall.
Pocono has been a very good track for Stenhouse Jr over the past couple seasons. He has been very good since the start of the 2016 season. In the past two seasons, he haven't finished worse than 18th place. The June races has been his best finishes though. In the last four June races, he has 3 top 15 finishes. Including finishes of 11th, 15th and 15th. His number in the August races aren't bad, either. In his last 4 August races, he has 3 Top 18 finishes. Including finishes of 16th, 18th and 18th. You really cannot say anything bad about Stenhouse Jr when he can post these kind of numbers at this track. A place that has given drivers a lot of trouble over the years. Stenhouse Jr has done well for the equipment he been given. Indy has been a real trouble spot for Stenhouse Jr. It is considered one of his worst tracks in Nascar and his numbers back that up, too. In 5 career races, he only has one finish better than 24th. That race came in 2016 and he finished 12th in that race. Otherwise, his finishes look like this: 35th, 35th, 24th and 25th. This is just a ugly nightmare that I personally want no part of!
Plate tracks has given Ricky his first two career wins. They both came in 2017 and both were just a few months apart. Don't be fooled though, he was considered a great plate racer long before the 2017 season. He has been very good since his debut in 2013. At Talladega, he has 5 top 10 finishes in his last 8 races at this track. Prior to finishing 26th in last October's race, he had back to back top 5 finishes in May 2017 and October 2016. In his last 4 races (before last October's 26th place finish), he had 3 top 9 finishes.
Daytona has some interesting trends for the most part. He started off very well at the Daytona 500 in his career. In his first 3 starts at the Daytona 500, he posted finishes of 20th, 11th and 7th. Trending in the right direction, right? Yup and then things went south quickly. In his last 3 Daytona 500 races, he has finishes of 29th, 22nd and 31st. In the July races? He has been a lot better. In 5 July races, he has posted 3 top 11 finishes. Including finishes of 1st, 5th, 19th, 41st and 11th. In his last two July races, he has back-to-back top 5 finishes.
Road Courses will be a kind of track that I would try to avoid using Stemhouse Jr on. He have a dirt background, but that means little to nothing when it comes to road course racing. Even though he haven't completely terrible. In 5 career races at Watkins Glen, he has posted 3 finishes in the top 20. His best career finish is 18th though. In his last three races here, he has finishes of 20th, 38th and 34th. His best-career finish of 18th place came in his first very first start. Since then, he have two 20th place finishes to his credit. That's all!
As one would guess, drivers usually struggle a lot more at Sonoma than Watkins Glen. Since, the skill level required at Sonoma is vastly different than Watkins Glen. At Sonoma, it typically reward the skillful road course racers. Stenhouse Jr doesn't have the skill-set mastered yet. In 5 career starts, he has one top 20 finish. He finished 20th in 2015. His next best finish? 26th. In those other four races, he has finishes of 38th, 26th, 31st and 27th. Things haven't ended all too well for Ricky overall at the road courses.
***All stats are from DriverAverages.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
Ricky Stenhouse Jr is coming off a career year after a career year. Pretty good, wouldn't you say? He had his best season (at the time) in 2016, where he impressed a lot. What does he go out and do? He have a even better season in 2017 and scores his first two career wins.
Intermediate tracks will be good and bad for Stenhouse Jr in 2018, but the past two seasons he has proven that he can be a very consistent driver. I think we have to bank on that consistency for him to have any real constant fantasy value. We like predicable in fantasy nascar and Stenhouse Jr will deliver that, too. His best three intermediate tracks (in my opinion) are Atlanta, Kansas and Texas. One of three, I would have to say that Atlanta is his best one of those tracks. In 5 career starts, he has posted 19.0 average finish and that includes an 36th place finish back in 2015. In his four other career races, he has finished 20th or better in every race. He has been very competitive over the past two seasons here. He has finished 10th and 13th in 2016 and 2017 races. Statistically based on performed, they also were very strong races for him. He performed very well in the low-teens for the event and that alone should tell you should about him. In my opinion, Atlanta is just one of those tracks that fits perfectly in his driving style.
Kansas is another really good track for Ricky and he has plenty of experience here. In 6 of his 10 career starts, he has finished in the top 20. In 4 of his last 5 starts at Kansas, he has finished 19th or better. He has finishes of 11th, 19th, 13th and 13th in those four finishes. In last fall's race, he finished 29th. In that event, he crashed into the wall and then dragged his side against the wall for about half a lap. Obviously he had something going wrong, prior to hitting the wall. Regradless, the results ended up being the exact same for him. That would end up eliminating him from the championship and advancing to the next round.
Charlotte is another solid track for him and he has been really good lately here. In his last 5 starts here, he has finished 20th or better in all five races. In 4 of those 5 races, he has finished 15th or better. Including finishes of 13th and 15th during the 2017 season. In his first three starts with the #17 car at Charlotte, he had no finishes better than 24th. Since then, he doesn't have any outside of the top 20. It really shows the improvement that RFR has made since latter part of the 2015 season. This is one of the greatest example of that!
Bristol is a really strong track for Ricky Stenhouse Jr and I would go far as saying it his best track so far in his career. I guess the plate tracks would put up a tough fight for that title, but outside of that, I don't think another track comes close. Ricky is a stud at Bristol and his numbers can back that up, too. Earlier in his career, I thought he was bit of a fluke. But as the races go by, it is hard to argue that he is just that good here. In 10 career starts, he has finished in the top 10 five times. That's 50% of the time and he also has posted 3 Top 5 finishes. That's 30% of the time! In 7 of his last 8 races here, he has finished in the top 16. In 5 of his last 8 races here, he has finished in the top 9. Including in 2 of the last three races overall. In his last three races, he has finishes of 14th, 9th and 2nd. He has been at least a top 15 driver on pure performance in all three races, in my opinion. That's a very good sign for him in 2018 and beyond!
Martinsville is one of his worst tracks on the schedule, despite a career-year at the paperclip in 2017. He posted two top 10 finishes of 10th place in 2 races during the 2017 at Martinsville. Prior to that, he had one career top 15 (15th place) in his first 8 races. During that 8-race span, he posted just 2 finishes in the top 25. And they were 15th and 25th. They came in 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Shorter flats will be a very interesting place for him in 2018, but I still think RFR is a working progress on this type of track. I would have to say that New Hampshire has been the kindest to him over the past couple seasons. In his last 6 races at New Hampshire, he has compiled 5 finishes of 17th or better. Yes, that's pretty damn good! He's very consistent at New Hampshire of late. This is something he has struggled to do in general on this type of track so far in his career. In his last 5 races at this track, he has finished 4 of 5 races in the top 15. He swept the top 15 with finishes of 14th and 15th in 2017.
New Hampshire may had been more kind to him over the past couple seasons, but I think Phoenix is his BEST shorter flat. In 2017, he was really good and he has been at his best at this place throughout his career. In 2017, he finished 8th and 4th. Prior to that he had three straight finishes of 23rd or worse. In 7 of his 10 career races at Phoenix, he has finished 18th or better. And there is Richmond, where he has had his issues at. Ricky has had been inconsistent at times, but he isn't terrible here. In 4 of his last 5 races, he has finished 19th or better. In 5 of his 10 career races at Richmond, he has finished in the top 19. I would like to see him consistently contend for those top 15, but isn't too far off of that. Just need a little more work here overall.
Pocono has been a very good track for Stenhouse Jr over the past couple seasons. He has been very good since the start of the 2016 season. In the past two seasons, he haven't finished worse than 18th place. The June races has been his best finishes though. In the last four June races, he has 3 top 15 finishes. Including finishes of 11th, 15th and 15th. His number in the August races aren't bad, either. In his last 4 August races, he has 3 Top 18 finishes. Including finishes of 16th, 18th and 18th. You really cannot say anything bad about Stenhouse Jr when he can post these kind of numbers at this track. A place that has given drivers a lot of trouble over the years. Stenhouse Jr has done well for the equipment he been given. Indy has been a real trouble spot for Stenhouse Jr. It is considered one of his worst tracks in Nascar and his numbers back that up, too. In 5 career races, he only has one finish better than 24th. That race came in 2016 and he finished 12th in that race. Otherwise, his finishes look like this: 35th, 35th, 24th and 25th. This is just a ugly nightmare that I personally want no part of!
Plate tracks has given Ricky his first two career wins. They both came in 2017 and both were just a few months apart. Don't be fooled though, he was considered a great plate racer long before the 2017 season. He has been very good since his debut in 2013. At Talladega, he has 5 top 10 finishes in his last 8 races at this track. Prior to finishing 26th in last October's race, he had back to back top 5 finishes in May 2017 and October 2016. In his last 4 races (before last October's 26th place finish), he had 3 top 9 finishes.
Daytona has some interesting trends for the most part. He started off very well at the Daytona 500 in his career. In his first 3 starts at the Daytona 500, he posted finishes of 20th, 11th and 7th. Trending in the right direction, right? Yup and then things went south quickly. In his last 3 Daytona 500 races, he has finishes of 29th, 22nd and 31st. In the July races? He has been a lot better. In 5 July races, he has posted 3 top 11 finishes. Including finishes of 1st, 5th, 19th, 41st and 11th. In his last two July races, he has back-to-back top 5 finishes.
Road Courses will be a kind of track that I would try to avoid using Stemhouse Jr on. He have a dirt background, but that means little to nothing when it comes to road course racing. Even though he haven't completely terrible. In 5 career races at Watkins Glen, he has posted 3 finishes in the top 20. His best career finish is 18th though. In his last three races here, he has finishes of 20th, 38th and 34th. His best-career finish of 18th place came in his first very first start. Since then, he have two 20th place finishes to his credit. That's all!
As one would guess, drivers usually struggle a lot more at Sonoma than Watkins Glen. Since, the skill level required at Sonoma is vastly different than Watkins Glen. At Sonoma, it typically reward the skillful road course racers. Stenhouse Jr doesn't have the skill-set mastered yet. In 5 career starts, he has one top 20 finish. He finished 20th in 2015. His next best finish? 26th. In those other four races, he has finishes of 38th, 26th, 31st and 27th. Things haven't ended all too well for Ricky overall at the road courses.
***All stats are from DriverAverages.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
