It was another upset at the Daytona 500 as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. grabbed the lead at the moment of caution on the final lap to secure the victory. Stenhouse bested defending series champion Joey Logano. It was the third victory of Stenhouse’s career and his first since moving to JTG Daugherty Racing.
OUT OF NOWHERE
Stenhouse wasn’t a big name to follow heading into the race. The former two-time Xfinity Series Champion has run consistently throughout his career. He’s usually a middle of the pack racer that can sometimes find his way up front. Stenhouse kept his nose clean all day on Sunday and, during the first attempt at a green-white-checker, used his momentum to pass Kyle Busch for the lead. But a crash before the white flag led to a second green-white-checker attempt that looked to favor Logano. The Penske driver passed Stenhouse on the final lap, but Stenhouse was able to get his nose ahead of Logano before another crash froze the field and ended the race. Would Stenhouse or Logano come to the finish line first if the race had finished under green? We’ll never know, but Stenhouse has etched his name in the record books.
WINLESS STREAKS SNAPPED
The win ended two long winless streaks. Stenhouse won for the first time in 199 races at the same track where his last win occurred. The Olive Branch, Mississippi native previously won the 400 mile race at Daytona in 2017. He has also won at Talladega. It was also the first points race for a reunited Stenhouse and crew chief Mike Kelley. Kelley served as Stenhouse’s crew chief in the Xfinity Series when Stenhouse won his two championships. It’s the first time they’ve worked together in Cup, and they’ve found Victory Lane. This may be the reunion Stenhouse needed to see greater success.
It was also the end of a JTG Daugherty Racing. The team owned by former NBA player Brad Daugherty, along with Jodi and Tad Geschickter has just one previous win in the Cup Series. That was one by road course specialist A.J. Allmendinger at Watkins Glen in 2014. After 266 races, the team found its way back to Victory Lane.
THIRD STRAIGHT UNDERDOG WIN
Restrictor plate racing leads to some unusual winners. Stenhouse is the third straight underdog to win the Daytona 500. Unlike Michael McDowell and Austin Cindric the previous two seasons, Stenhouse has actually tasted victory before. Neither McDowell nor Cindric has returned to Victory Lane yet, so it will be interesting to see if Stenhouse becomes a more regular winner or just another footnote.
NEXT UP
NASCAR now heads from the East Coast to the West Coast. The Cup and Xfinity Series will race at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Defending race winner Kyle Larson will look to get back on track after being involved in the final crash at Daytona. It will be interesting to see what happens as NASCAR transitions from the two and a half mile restrictor plate superspeedway to the two mile track in California.
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