Newton, Iowa (May 21, 2012) – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dominated the field, leading 209 of the 250 laps of the Pioneer Hi-Bred 250 and going on to capture his third consecutive victory at Iowa Speedway and his third win of the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide season. The 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Champion became the first Nationwide driver to win three consecutive races at a track since Kyle Busch won three straight at Texas Motor Speedway in 2009-2010.
The final green flag waved on lap 207 after the final caution was displayed for the No. 99 who lost power and could not get his machine back to pit-road. On the final restart, Stenhouse’s No. 6 Cargill Ford powered away from the field and created a 1.5 second cushion over second place by the time he took the checkered flag on lap 250.
“This was a fun one,” said Stenhouse. “I love dominating these races. I think we all thought about winning three in a row here but we never talked about it. Our success here is due to our strong set-up package. These guys work hard every weekend on our No. 6 Cargill Beef Mustang and they deserve this win. All in all it was great day.”
Stenhouse took the green flag of the Pioneer Hi-Bred 250 in the third starting position but quickly marched toward the front and overtook the lead from Sam Hornish Jr. on Lap 31. He went on to to lead 209 laps - tying an Iowa Speedway record set by Busch in 2010.
The No. 6 team went to work on the No. 6 Cargill Ford three times during the race making minor adjustments to keep the champ out front. Stenhouse never fell out of the top-four and at times during the race had built a five second lead over the rest of the competition.
Stenhouse swept both races at Iowa last season and has now led a total of 275 laps in the last three races there. The 209 laps led is a career-high for Stenhouse. The Olive Branch, Miss. native claimed his third win in 10 starts this season, extending his season points lead to 28 points over Elliott Sadler.
Stenhouse and the No. 6 team head to Charlotte this weekend for the History 300 where the team sat on the pole last year. The race will be Saturday, May 26 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Coverage will begin at 2:30 p.m. (EST) on ABC.
