Ricky Stenhouse Jr. set for first NASCAR Xfinity Series start since 2016
LONG POND, PA. — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is set to make only his third NASCAR Xfinity Series start since winning the championship in 2012.
Stenhouse is entered to race the No. 48 Chevrolet for Big Machine Racing in the Explore The Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono Raceway (5 p.m. ET; TV: USA; Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90).
Tyler Reddick was originally entered for the race but was not listed as the driver in NASCAR’s official roster portal Monday morning.
Reddick announced last week he will leave Richard Childress Racing’s Chevrolet operations after 2023 and join 23XI Racing’s Toyota operations for the 2024 season.
Stenhouse is set to make his 109th NXS start this weekend but only his first without Roush-Fenway Racing.
Stenhouse earned eight wins, 39 top-5 finishes, 62 top-10s and eight poles in 106 NXS starts from 2009-12, which includes championships in 2011 and 2012. His two races since the 2012 title resulted in a third-place finish at Phoenix in Nov. 2016 and a 17th-place finish at Texas in Nov. 2013 at Texas.
NOTE: TRE reached out to Big Machine Racing but have not heard back yet.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com