Wow, what a weekend! We now have won three consecutive races at Iowa Speedway. I believe we all thought about it last week but didn't really talk about it. This feat shows the hard work and dedication from everyone in the Roush Fenway organization. It was great to get Cargill Beef their first win of the season and to celebrate with them in Victory Lane. Cargill was a huge supporter of our championship year, and I am honored to represent them as we defend our Nationwide championship and go for another one.

I love dominating and running as well as we did. We led 209 of the 250 laps, which tied Kyle Busch's record in 2009. Last year it seemed like something always happened at the end in the races we dominated and we didn't get the win, so it is good feeling to close the deal.

"Last year when we won at Iowa, I hit the wall four times, so our car still looked better than last year."

--RICKY STENHOUSE JR.

During our Nationwide practice on Saturday, I got into the outside wall coming off Turn 2, which sidelined us for approximately 45 minutes of the two-hour practice. Last year when we won at Iowa, I hit the wall four times, so our car still looked better than last year. My guys did an amazing job repairing our No. 6 Ford. Despite the damage, our car still was fast. We made a few more runs before practice concluded and ended up sixth fastest overall on the speed charts, them qualified third for the Pioneer Hi-Bred 250.

I have had a common trend the past two weekends. I earned my "Darlington stripe" in our Nationwide practice and caused some body work repair to our car. Luckily, I got those out of the way in practice and not in the race.

In Darlington, we won our first pole of the season. I love racing at Darlington because you carry so much speed into the corners and slide up within inches of the wall. We had a strong car, but midrace we had a puncture in our right rear tire that brought us to pit-road under green-flag conditions. We were able to make up some ground but ran out of time. We still came home with a solid sixth-place finish.

This weekend we race in our backyard at Charlotte Motor Speedway. We sat on the pole there last year, so we are looking for a similar outcome. I think everyone always looks forward to racing at Charlotte because we get to spend time with family and friends. Everyone always wants to win in front of their peers and have the families there to enjoy the celebration.

Just found out about two weeks ago that I will be going to the CMT Awards on June 6th in Nashville. As you might know, I love country music, so I can't wait to get to walk the red carpet and meet some of my idols. Next week, we are filming a segment for Nationwide that will air during the show. I am presenting an award, but I will keep which one a secret so make sure you tune in. I have my Tony Lama boots and my Nationwide championship belt buckle ready to go for the event.

Thanks for all the support. Until next time, later!

In the Draft with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is a twice-monthly blog and the opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. Follow him and the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing team on Twitter: @stenhousejr, @pr6nns, and @roushfenway.