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Olive Branch Honors Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

August 18, 2010

A large group of friends, family and fans braved the heat today to celebrate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Day in Olive Branch.

The 22-year-old Stenhouse, who has been racing since he was six years old, returned to Olive Branch on Aug. 18 to be honored by his hometown. Stenhouse signed autographs, posed for pictures and was on the receiving end of countless hugs from local residents who came to celebrate the professional Nationwide Series driver’s accomplishments.

One of Roush Fenway Racing’s up-and-coming drivers. Stenhouse made a name for himself in 2007 when he drove for Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) in the USAC (United States Auto Club) National Sprint Car and USAC National Midget Series at events across the United States.

He left a mark in the history annals when he took home five Midget wins and two Sprint wins while on his way to becoming Rookie-of-the-Year in the USAC National Midget and Sprint Car Series, only the second driver to win both accolades in the same year.

In 2008, the standout from Olive Branch took the ARCA RE/MAX Series by storm, claiming his first stock car win in only his sixth career start. He also led the points for 13 weeks before entering into one of the closest championship battles in ARCA history before closing out the year with two wins, three poles and finishing fourth in the point standings.

That same year Stenhouse forayed into the Nationwide Series in the No. 16 CitiFinancial Ford. In seven starts he logged one top-five and two top-10 finishes and also led his first career Nationwide laps and captured his first career Nationwide pole at Iowa. The tenacious driver will vie for Rookie-of-the-Year honors as he competes full-time in the Nationwide Series in 2010.
During his visit Stenhouse took part in meet-and-greet festivities at CitiFinancial and Homer Skelton Ford, and received an official proclamation from Mayor Sam Rikard.

(Photos by Jamie Mercer)