DAYTONA Seashore, Fla. — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has experienced a roller coaster job in which he experienced to battle to continue to keep a job, lost his seat at a NASCAR powerhouse group and opened his 14th season mired in a 5-yr losing streak.
To say this Daytona 500 was a milestone race was an understatement — for Stenhouse and for NASCAR.
Stenhouse received the Daytona 500 in double time beyond regulation and beneath caution Sunday night in the longest working of “The Terrific American Race.” The two overtimes pushed the 65th working of the race to a report 212 laps — a dozen laps further than the scheduled distance and a whopping 530 miles (850 km).
It delivered anxious moments before a landmark celebration: the initial Daytona 500-successful workforce co-owned by a Black person and a female.
Stenhouse’s win for JTG Daugherty Racing was the 3rd of his career. JTG is the initially single-car or truck crew to earn the Daytona 500 given that The Wooden Brothers Racing did it with Trevor Bayne in 2011.
The staff is owned by Tad and Jodi Geschickter along with previous NBA player Brad Daugherty.
Daugherty, who still left the track earlier Sunday with an eye irritation, is the to start with Black car or truck proprietor to get the race, and Jodi Geschickter joined Teresa Earnhardt as female car proprietors to acquire the Daytona 500. Earnhardt ran Dale Earnhardt Inc. when Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. received the Daytona 500 in 2003 and 2004.
To get to victory lane Sunday, JTG stuck with Stenhouse and even reunited him this time with the crew main who led him to a pair of Xfinity Sequence titles decades ago.
Mike Kelly’s most important undertaking was convincing Stenhouse that he can without a doubt acquire races. So ahead of the Daytona 500, he taped a observe within the Chevrolet. The concept? The staff thinks in the driver.
“When I woke up currently I informed myself that I was likely to do one thing that I utilized to do for Ricky when we experienced tricky times,” Kelly stated. “I just wrote him a observe that only he would see. It was on top of the roll bar in front of him, and it just stated, ‘We consider.’ That is been our motto the full offseason — that we consider.
“We’re hoping to get people to believe that in Ricky Stenhouse Jr. again.”
Stenhouse’s only other victories arrived in 2017, at Talladega and the summer time race at Daytona.
Now, the 35-calendar year-old from Olive Department, Mississippi, has a repeat get at Daytona in NASCAR’s most important race of the time.
“I feel this full offseason Mike just preached how considerably we all thought in every other. They left me a be aware in the vehicle that reported they consider in me and to go get the work finished,” Stenhouse explained. “Man, this is unbelievable. This was the web-site of my previous gain back again in 2017. We’ve labored actually tough. We had a pair shots last 12 months to get a gain and fell quick.
“It was a rough season, but male, we obtained it accomplished, Daytona 500.”
Kyle Larson was collected in the race-ending crash just after he jumped out of line as well early in an attempt to get. His disappointment was alleviated by Stenhouse’s victory.
“Happy that Ricky received. I’m tremendous joyful. Which is all I could imagine about right after I crashed, waiting to hear that he gained,” Larson mentioned. “He’s just one of my greatest friends, so I was like yelling into my helmet when I aided thrust him to the lead there. I was hoping it was heading to keep eco-friendly so it would have been me or him win.
“I just cannot wait around to go get altered and go give him a massive hug because he is just one of my excellent buddies.”
Reigning Cup champion Joey Logano concluded next in a Ford for Team Penske, which won the race previous yr with Austin Cindric.
“Second is the worst, person,” Logano claimed. “Congratulations to Ricky. There is practically nothing like winning the Daytona 500. Which is why it stings so substantially finishing 2nd.”
Christopher Bell was third in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and followed by Chris Buescher in a Ford for RFK Racing and pole sitter Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports in a Chevrolet. It marked the 1st time the pole sitter has concluded in the prime five considering the fact that Bill Elliott in 2001.
AJ Allmendinger was sixth for Kaulig Racing, Daniel Suarez seventh for Trackhouse Racing and Ryan Blaney eighth for Group Penske. Ross Chastain of Trackhouse and Riley Herbst of Rick Ware Racing rounded out the prime 10.
Action sports activities star Travis Pastrana completed 11th in his Daytona 500 debut, and Kevin Harvick was 12th in his final Daytona 500. Harvick is retiring at the close of the 12 months.
Kyle Busch dropped to for 18 in the Daytona 500 but contended for his new Richard Childress Racing crew. He was the leader in advance of teammate Austin Dillon with 3 laps remaining in regulation when a spin by Daniel Suarez brought out the caution and sent the race to time beyond regulation.
“Back in 1998, that would be the gain, boys,” Busch radioed his crew in a reference to how the late Dale Earnhardt won his only Daytona 500. There was no additional time then and Earnhardt won under warning.
Busch wound up 19th immediately after the race-ending crash in next time beyond regulation.
“I believe this is the to start with time I led lap 200, so I desire it was 1998 procedures. But, no, it is just par for the course, just applied to it and occur down here just about every 12 months to just locate out when and the place I’m heading to crash and what lap I arrive out of the care middle,” Busch reported. “Who gained? I don’t even know who lucked into it.”
Busch was informed Stenhouse was the victor.
“There you have it,” he replied.
Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson built his return to the collection and ran inside of the best 15 for most of the race. He was collected in one particular of the crashes in time beyond regulation and completed 31st. Johnson has returned from two a long time of racing in the IndyCar Series as section operator of Legacy Motor Club and he options to enter a handful of races.
Brad Keselowski led a race-higher 42 laps but finished 22nd. He declined to speak to reporters immediately after dropping to for 14 in a race he desperately would like to acquire.
Next up
The Cup Series races at Car Club Speedway in Fontana, California, following Sunday in the ultimate race of the track’s existing configuration. It will be renovated into a limited observe soon after the race — a project that will stop the observe from internet hosting any racing in 2024. Kyle Larson gained previous year’s race.
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