All down the line: Stenhouse Jr. tightens up the belts

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on the eve of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway: "During the offseason I reflected on our 2017 season and tried to figure out what we need to do to be faster and to be better in 2018. I think that as a team we know what we need to do and we're still trying to make our cars faster and faster on all types of race tracks. For me, I looked at the mistakes that we made in the race car and I want to try and minimize those coming into 2018." Straight out of Olive Branch, Mississippi, Stenhouse may have been looking into some sort of crystal ball coming into the Daytona 500 as both faster Fords and minimizing mistakes have played roles in the tales of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford outfit. The two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, as well as the entire Roush Fenway Racing enterprise, have hung tough. And whether it's chasing tenths of a second or scratching and clawing for points, they are still very much in the story line of finding a way into the playoffs. RELATED: NASCAR Playoff standings | Loudon schedule Stenhouse enters this weekend a mere nine points below the cutoff line for the run to Homestead-Miami. On Saturday, NASCAR.com spoke with the wheelman. In good spirits and keen to get things rolling, it's clear this Sunday's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is of great importance. Ricky, what's your take on New Hampshire Motor Speedway and racing at this place come tomorrow afternoon?  It's fun. It's been a while since I've been on a short track like New Hampshire. It's flat and similar to a Phoenix. We've had some good top 10 runs here. We struggled at the second race here last year and so we're trying to forget that one (Note: Stenhouse placed 15th) and think about more what we did at the beginning of last year when we came here twice. Now we only come here once. Obviously tomorrow is a very important race for both you and Roush Fenway Racing. Do you feel confident about your race car and the notes you and the team have utilized to dial it in? The team is confident. You know, we had some new things in the car for the first practice session and that didn't go as well as planned, so like you said, we'll go back to our notebook and kind of look at the notes and figure out how to get our car driving how we want it to and try to make the most out of it. We're only nine points out of being in the playoffs. We've got some work to do, but we can see that opportunity ahead. RELATED: Stenhouse's stats at New Hampshire Yes, while the results have not been spectacular or easy to come by in '18 - at least thus far - you're right there standing on the cutoff line and poised to find your way into the playoffs, huh? Yeah, I definitely like the position that we're in after some of the races that we've had this year and some of the not-so-good performances that we've had, so to be in this position and to feel like we have kind of struggled up to this point, I think it's an OK position to be in. We just have to make sure we're consistent and don't give up points when we don't have to. Yeah, I was going to ask you Ricky, the tracks coming up -- Pocono, Watkins Glen, Michigan, Bristol, Darlington and Indianapolis -- add up to a big mixed bag. Do you like these tracks?  It is a mixed bag and we've ran OK at all of those -- not spectacular. Watkins Glen is probably the worst of the bunch for us. Bristol, I think we've got a real good shot at maybe even getting a win there. Then we wouldn't really have to worry about the points. But you know I think we've got some new stuff coming and hopefully we can get some new cars out on the track and pick up a little bit of speed. Are the No. 17 Ford race cars where you want them to be for this mad dash toward the playoffs? Well, I don't feel good with where we're at. I feel like we kind of stalled out there for a while and weren't really working on anything spectacular, but it showed signs of maybe being better. I think now, over the last month and a half or so, we've kind of got a direction and I feel like the team is confident with the new cars that they're building and with the things that we're going to bring to the race track. I like where we are headed, I just wish, and we all wish that we could get there a little quicker. WATCH: Playoff outsiders look to break through at New Hampshire Hey, how is Jack Roush doing? He still right there smack in the middle of it all? Oh yeah, Jack is good. In every meeting he is always giving his opinion and kind of reflecting back on some of the times that he struggled in the past and the ways they went about it as a company to figure out those issues. He comes to the track at 85 percent of our races and 85 to 90 percent of our meetings, so he's definitely well-engaged and anxious to see us start running better. Can you get a win this year? Would you guys need to take a big swing at something to find your way into Victory Lane?  We're trying to take big swings here in the near future in trying to bring some faster cars to the race track. I think our best two options to get a win are Bristol and Talladega before the end of the season. I know it's a passion play and something close to your heart, so how has your NOS Energy Drink-backed World of Outlaws been doing? It is close to my heart. The sprint car team, man, we started off on fire and we've won five races in total and four with the Outlaws. It's been really cool. Sheldon [Haudenschild] has been doing an awesome job and got his first World of Outlaws win this year. We've struggled as of late, but we're right there and it won't take much to kind of get back our momentum that we had at the beginning of the season. OK, I have to hit you with it: I'm sure you've had your fill about talking about it, but as far as the Kyle Busch post-Daytona/Kentucky saga, have you seen the man over there in New Hampshire? No, I haven't seen Kyle. Obviously, I talked to him at Kentucky, but he didn't really have a whole lot to say when I talked to him. Yeah, we got together there at Daytona and that was one was clearly my fault, but I wasn't real happy with some of the things that he said and he wasn't happy with some of the things I did, but eventually I'm sure we'll move past it.