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.