Stenhouse 長，率いるs to Bristol ブイ，浮標d by good run at Charlotte
BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. could not have had a bumpier return to racing after NASCAR's 10-week shutdown.
How bad was it? Stenhouse 衝突，墜落d on the first （競技場の）トラック一周 of the first race 支援する and finished last.
He followed it with a 25th-place finish at the second Cup race at Darlington Raceway, then was 24th in the Coca-Cola 600. In three races, Stenhouse 急落するd seven 位置／汚点／見つけ出すs in the standings to 24th.
Stenhouse finally snapped out of it Thursday night in a second visit to Charlotte モーター Speedway with a fourth-place finish for his new JTG-Daugherty Racing team.
"It was just really good to just have a smooth race with really no 問題／発行するs," Stenhouse said. "It was just 抱擁する to get a good run in and pass a lot of really good cars."
Next up is Sunday's stop at Bristol モーター Speedway - the fifth Cup race since NASCAR 再開するd May 17 and a decent 跡をつける for Stenhouse. His six-career 最高の，を越す-10 finishes 階級 Bristol behind only Talladega Superspeedway at 跡をつけるs where Stenhouse has 配達するd.
FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2020, とじ込み／提出する photom Ricky Stenhouse Jr. walks along 炭坑，オーケストラ席 road before qualifying for the NASCAR 自動車 race at Daytona International Speedway, Su,day, in Daytona Beach, Fla. Stenhouse Jr. returned from NASCAR's 10-week shutdown and 衝突，墜落d on the first （競技場の）トラック一周 of the first race. His next two races weren't much better but Stenhouse finally got a break with a fourth-place finish Thursday night. Now he goes to Bristol モーター Speedway, where he has had strong runs before. The Cup Series races for the fifth time in 14 days on Sunday. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, とじ込み／提出する)
This is Stenhouse's first season at JTG but he surrounded himself with familiar 直面するs from his Roush Fenway Racing 任期 that 含む longtime 乗組員 長，指導者 Brian Pattie. The 二人組 is making the 移行 from racing in a Ford to a Chevrolet now and 準備するing for events that don't 含む practice or qualifying.
As NASCAR tries to （不足などを）補う eight 延期するd points races the schedule has been condensed into one-day shows, and teams don't have two or more practice 開会／開廷／会期s to dial-in a 体制／機構. Stenhouse and Chris Buescher essentially swapped rides at the end of 2019, and Buescher's old 公式文書，認めるs from Bristol are at their 処分.
"Our 体制／機構s, loo king at what we 普通は run versus what they ran here, are pretty 類似の, so I feel good about that," Stenhouse said, 追加するing that he's quickly getting comfortable in the Camaro and NASCAR 現在の aerodynamic 一括.
"The feel that I have in this race car is better than any of the feel that I had in my Cup cars over my career so far," he said. "I´m looking 今後 to getting to Bristol knowing that we´ve had good runs there. We´ve had chances to 勝利，勝つ there. It would be nice to be able to get up and go lead some （競技場の）トラック一周s, and 競う for a 勝利，勝つ there 同様に."
What to watch at Bristol:
DIBENEDETTO'S RETURN
Matt DiBendetto was told he was out at Leavine Family Racing days before last August's race at Bristol. He worked through his 失望 to lead 93 （競技場の）トラック一周s and finish a career-best second.
It was a life-changing week for DiBenedetto, who impressed the NASCAR community with his 解決する. Paul Menard took it one step その上の by telling his 支持を得ようと努めるd Brothers Racing team he was retiring at the end of the year and they should 雇う DiBenedetto.
DiBenedetto got the ride that puts him under the Team Penske umbrella and has been decent this year. He finished second at Las Vegas in the second race of the season and led 10 （競技場の）トラック一周s Thursday night at Charlotte.
He's 階級d 11th in the standings.
"I´m excited about how good of a team we have and 資源s and チーム仲間s and you 指名する it," he said. "We´ve shown if we 攻撃する，衝突する it or we´re の近くに, we can be up 前線 at any of these races. We´re not in our rhythm yet, but we will be. I have no 疑問 about that."
KESELOWSKI AGAIN ON THE POLE
The field was 始める，決める by a 無作為の draw and Brad Keselowski again got the lucky pull for the 政治家. He will start first for the second time in five races.
It was a strong 宝くじ for Team Penske, which got all three of its drivers in the first two 列／漕ぐ／騒動s. Joey Logano will start second and Ryan Blaney third.
Blaney 巡航するs into Bristol riding 支援する-to-支援する third-place finishes scor ed at Charlotte.
"These past two races I´ve been really proud of everyone´s 成果／努力," Blaney said. "I think we were の近くに, we´ve just got to find a little bit of 速度(を上げる） here and there to go out and really 支配する races."
FILE - In this Thursday, May 28, 2020, とじ込み／提出する photo, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 運動s during a NASCAR Cup Series 自動車 race at Charlotte モーター Speedway, in Concord, N.C. Stenhouse Jr. returned from NASCAR's 10-week shutdown and 衝突，墜落d on the first （競技場の）トラック一周 of the first race. His next two races weren't much better but Stenhouse finally got a break with a fourth-place finish Thursday night. Now he goes to Bristol モーター Speedway, where he has had strong runs before. The Cup Series races for the fifth time in 14 days on Sunday. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, とじ込み／提出する)
