“Unbelievable,” Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wins the longest Daytona 500 in history
Stehouse Jr, has ended his 199 race winless streak.
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Ricky Stenhouse wins the 2023 Daytona 500
The 75th-anniversary edition of NASCAR started with a bang. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. scored his first Daytona 500 win and second win at the Florida Beach track. The No:47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevy edged defending Cup champion Joey Logano and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell to score the first win in 2023 and his maiden win in the Next-Gen car.
According to Fox commentator Mike Joy, the sold-out crowd witnessed the longest Daytona 500 in history. The race went into a double overtime showdown. Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch got turned on the first two-lap showdown before taking the white flag ending his dream of an impressive RCR debut. Stenhouse and Logano took the front row in the second start.
The Chevy driver could secure the white flag before the caution came out, and Kyle Larson No:5 was sent to the wall. This marks Stenhouse’s career-best finish at Daytona 500, the close he came to winning in the past was a P7. The 37 lead changes made one of the most thrilling races though the multiple cautions killed some fun.
RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher finished P4 ahead, and Pole winner Alex Bowman finished the race at P5. Action sports legend Travis Pastrana impressed with a p11 finish, while Jimmie Johnson’s Cup return ended in vain after being collected in a multi-car crash on the first overtime showdown. Ty Dillon, Tyler Reddick, and Chase Elliott, who crashed out earlier, occupied the last spots on the grid. Ty Gibbs finished P25 in his full-time debut.
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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is over the moon after the historic win
The JTGR driver had a tough 2022 as he scored just one top 5 finish 2022. He scored 4 top 10 fishes as well. Stenhouse Jr. had poor momentum coming into the season, as he never finished in the Top 15 twice in the playoffs and struggled to score a performance throughout the second half of the season.
“I think this whole offseason Mike just preached how much we all believed in each other. They left me a note in the car that said they believed in me and to get the job done. Man, this is unbelievable. This was the site of my last win back in 2017. We’ve worked really hard. We had a couple shots last year to get a win and fell short,” Stenhouse said in his post-race interview.
“This Kroger Continental team worked really, really hard in the off-season, great pit stops, Hendrick engines. Glad a Chevy won. Man, this is unbelievable. This was the site of my last win back in 2017. We’ve worked really hard. We had a couple shots last year to get a win and fell short. It was a tough season, but, man, we got it done. DAYTONA 500!” Stenhouse Jr. added.
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Justin P Joy
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