Fifth Third returns to #17 to sponsor Stenhouse in 2013 and...: Fifth Third Bank will sponsor Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Fifth Third is sponsoring the same car it backed earlier this season, but with a different driver [Matt Kenseth]. Stenhouse will drive the #17 Fifth Third Ford Fusion next season. Fifth Third will be the primary sponsor of Stenhouse at Daytona, Michigan, Kentucky and Martinsville next year and an associate sponsor at all other Sprint Cup races in 2013. It also will be the primary sponsor of Stenhouse's #6 Ford at this year's last Sprint Cup race of the season, the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Nov. 18. Jack Roush, co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing, which owns the car, said Fifth Third is one of three main sponsors of Stenhouse and the #17 team. "We have seen Ricky develop into a NASCAR Nationwide Series champion and we're pleased to provide this opportunity for him to begin his Sprint Cup Series career next season with Fifth Third Bank, Best Buy and Zest on board," Roush said. The deal follows a Fifth Third sponsorship announced in May of Matt Kenseth driving the same #17 Fifth Third Ford Fusion for four races this summer (Business Courier ), Kenseth will leave the team after 2012 and drive the #20 Job Gibbs Racing Toyota in 2013.(9-21-2012)

UPDATE: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will run at least three Sprint Cup races for Roush Fenway Racing  Dover, Charlotte and Homestead  during the remainder of this season. "Right now, we're organized for three races with him at Dover, Charlotte and Homestead," said Jack Roush, "but if we decide his prospects for winning the Nationwide championship are improved by running more Sprint Cup races, we'll do that, and if we decide there's a sponsor that expresses interest and wants to take a look at him, or to be on board for an additional venue, we'll do that as well."(Gaston Gazette)(9-23-2012)

Nice!

Rancher's Reserve and Safeway sponsoring Stenhouse, Jr.: On the heels of the announcement in Chicagoland proclaiming that Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would pilot the historic #17 Ford Fusion next year in the Sprint Cup Series, the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide champion will make his second Sprint Cup start of the 2012 season at Dover International Speedway this weekend. Earlier this season the Olive Branch, Miss. native made his debut in the famed Daytona 500 finishing 21st. He finished 11th in his Sprint Cup debut in 2011 in the Coca-Cola 600. The 2011 NASCAR Nationwide champion will pull the double-duty this weekend as he defends his title with six races remaining. The tight championship battle shows Stenhouse only four points out of the lead. Rancher's Reserve and Safeway will serve as the primary sponsors for both the #6 Ford Mustang and #6 Ford Fusion.(Roush Fenway)(9-26-2012)

Best Buy sponsoring Stenhouse at Charlotte: Roush Fenway Racing's Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will pilot the #6 Best Buy Ford in the October 13th Sprint Cup event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Stenhouse, along with RFR teammate Matt Kenseth, will form a formidable pair of Best Buy Fords, with Kenseth's #17 Fusion also featuring the Best Buy blue and yellow for the event. It will mark the first time that Best Buy has sponsored two cars in a single race, with race fans treated to both the present and the future of the sport with the unique 'one-two punch' of Roush Fenway's first Sprint Cup Champion in Kenseth and its latest NASCAR Champion in the youthful Stenhouse. The race will be Stenhouse's third Sprint Cup event of the season and his fourth career Cup start.(Roush Fenway)(10-4-2012)

Very Nice!