Crew Chief Ben Leslie Gears Up For 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Season
February 4, 20104:42 PM
Concord, N.C. (February 4, 2010) – Crew Chief Ben Leslie has seen it all in racing; after all he’s worked the likes of Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch. Now, the head wrench is calling the shots for NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and the No. 6 CitiFinancial team for Roush Fenway Racing. As Leslie puts the finishing touches on his fleet of Fords for Daytona, he sat down to preview his driver, his team and the upcoming season. Here’s what he had to say:
Q: As a veteran crew chief with a new team and rookie driver, what has the preseason preparation been like and how ready are you to get on track?
A: I’m very anxious to get on the racetrack – there’s been a lot of preparation and a lot of new faces to learn. We’re going back to the old car so we’ve got to dig out some older notebooks to kind of re-train and re-think how we’re looking at stuff since I’ve been working with the COT (NASCAR Sprint Cup Car) for so long, but it’s really exciting to get going here.
Q: What is your impression of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.? How do you think he’s progressing from sprint cars to stock cars?
A: Ricky is pretty amazing. He’s a really good, down-to-earth guy. He was brought up in a very family oriented household. He appreciates people’s hard-work and from a competitive standpoint he has as much or more talent than I’ve seen in a young driver in a long time.
Q: You’ve worked with young drivers in the past (Matt Kenseth & Kurt Busch), what will be your biggest piece of advice for Ricky?
A: Probably to just race smart. Ricky is talented enough and savvy enough to where he has speed but he just needs to understand what positions to put himself in during the race. Qualifying is not going to be a problem with him, having speed is not a problem. He needs to understand when to take chances and when not to, which is going to come with bumps and bruises along the way and experience.
Q: This crew had success in the Truck Series in ’09 and Ricky showed he was fast in a part-time role last year, what expectations do you have for this group heading into the 2010 season?
A: Well, from a modest standpoint, I have pretty high expectations, I expect us to win races and sit on poles. I expect us to be top-five in points if not compete for a championship…that’s how much I believe in these guys and what they’re capable of and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. as well.
About CitiFinancial
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.
About Roush Fenway Racing
Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating seven motorsports teams. Four in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with drivers Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; and four in the Nationwide Series with Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Colin Braun, and Paul Menard. For more information on any of the Roush Fenway Racing teams, log onto www.RoushFenway.com. Become a fan of Roush Fenway Racing on Facebook by going to http://www.facebook.com/roushfenway. And for sponsorship inquiries please contact Robin Johnson at 704.720.4645.
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