Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Brings Back Classic Design for Sonoma [LOOK]

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Sonoma on Sunday, June 6, testing drivers under the California sun. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will celebrate the trip out west by bringing back a classic design. He will drive the No. 47 SunnyD Chevrolet Camaro for the road course race.

JTG Daugherty Racing unveiled the design on Tuesday, June 1, showing off the special look. The Chevrolet Camaro features an orange background on the rear of the vehicle and dark blue on the front. There is a massive bottle of SunnyD on the doors next to the car numbers. The company name also covers the hood.

Stenhouse will put the Sunny D design on full display while competing in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma. The JTG driver has seven starts at the California track in his career with no top-10s and no wins. His best finish was 18th in the 2018 Toyota/Save Mart 350. Now he will head back to the track and fight for a strong performance. Although he will not have access to practice or qualifying sessions.

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Stenhouse Previously Showcased SunnyD at a Superspeedway

Sunday’s race at Sonoma will not be the first time that Stenhouse works with the beverage company. He previously drove a Ford Mustang with Sunny D branding at Talladega Superspeedway, albeit with a different team.

Back on Oct. 14, 2019, Stenhouse headed to the Alabama track in the No. 17 SunnyD Ford Mustang. He competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 1000Bulbs.com 500 while driving for Roush Fenway Racing, turning in a solid performance in the process. Stenhouse started the race in seventh place and finished ninth while Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney raced to Victory Lane.

Stenhouse also showcased the SunnyD paint scheme during a trip to Bristol Motor Speedway in April 2019. He started 19th but finished 33rd after a collision that required repairs to the front end of the No. 17 Ford Mustang.

Stenhouse actually agreed to a contract extension with longtime partner SunnyD back in 2018 while still a member of Roush Fenway. He also inked extensions with Fastenal and Fifth/Third Bank. These deals go through the end of the 2021 season. Roush Fenway replaced Stenhouse at the end of the 2019 season, but he continued working with his sponsors after moving to JTG Daugherty.

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Stenhouse Will Fight for a Playoff Spot While Repping SunnyD

Now in his second season with JTG Daugherty Racing, Stenhouse has yet to win a race while driving the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro. However, he still has four top-five finishes to his name. This list includes a second-place finish in the first-ever Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race.

Stenhouse currently has 308 points after the first 15 races of the season. He sits just below the cutoff line and in 18th place. Michael McDowell holds the final spot with 346 points and a win in the season-opening Daytona 500.

Stenhouse started the season strong with nine consecutive top-20 finishes, but he ran into issues at Talladega and Kansas. Back-to-back races outside the top 30 dropped him in the points standings, but he has started to show some signs of improvement. Stenhouse finished 20th at both Darlington and Dover before finishing 22nd at Circuit of the Americas. He most recently took 12th in the Coca-Cola 600.

The Cup Series season continues on Sunday, June 6, with the trip to Sonoma Raceway. The race will take place at 4 p.m. ET with FS1 providing coverage. Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon, and Clint Bowyer will be in the booth while Jamie Little and Regan Smith provide updates from pit road. “America’s Crew Chief” Larry McReynolds will provide analysis from the Fox Sports studio.

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