Tuesday, July 19th 'What If' Question

Raise your hand if this time last year you thought Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would ever win a race and compete for the Nationwide Series championship?

What a difference a year makes. After struggling early in 2010 in his No. 6 Ford for Roush-Fenway Racing with wrecks, not qualifying and not making any progress, Stenhouse Jr. was benched by team owner Jack Roush. He watched while others drove his car and he did his best to learn from the sidelines.

For Stenhouse Jr., learning by not driving paid off. When he came back a transformation was apparent, it seemed a different person was behind the wheel. Stenhouse Jr. started knocking down top 10 and top five finishes, including a third at Daytona in July. Soon he was climbing through the point standings and competing for Rookie of the Year honors.

At the conclusion of 2010 it was clear that Stenhouse Jr. did indeed have the talent and deserved to be behind the wheel of the No. 6. He finished 16th in points and won ROY and suddenly became a driver to watch. Now a year later he's a driver that continues to impress and gain supporters.

Stenhouse Jr. won his first career race at Iowa early this year and has been in contention for many other wins. After finishing second to his teammate Carl Edwards in Michigan, Stenhouse Jr. was told by his spotter "a year ago people wouldn't even put you in the same sentence as Carl Edwards. Now you're racing him for wins."

Something that many never would have thought of, maybe even Stenhouse Jr. the way things were going last year. In may he made his first Sprint Cup Series starting while filling in for the ill Trevor Bayne in the Wood Brothers No. 21. Stenhouse Jr. finished 11th in that debut in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

Back on the Nationwide side he sits third in points, after having lead for a few weeks, and looks toward not only winning more races but contending for the championship down the stretch.

But ...

What If Ricky @StenhouseJr wasn't taken out of the car last year then brought back, does he still make the turnaround he has? #NASCAR

@MattEmbury That stunted his growth a tiny bit, but not enough to make too great a difference. #NASCAR

@cruetten i don't think so. he saw what will happen if he doesn't perform, and i really think that his "timeout" just added to his desire to run well

@ladybug388 yes and the turnaround may have sooner because its welcome due to more experience though u could argue the other way also and say he wouldn't had b/c being out of ride made him appreciate it more

@JoJo_6040 No. Nice wake up call. I think it was good for the kid to realize the opportunity he's bn given. He has the talent

@HarpAmyStabler I think probably not. It helped him to get really focused on his ride. Just my thoughts.