Ricky Stenhouse Jr. admits he isn’t racing in NASCAR to “prove people wrong”
Two-time Xfinity Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has explained how he tackles the pressure of expectations.
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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Via IMAGO)
Former Xfinity Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has been the pick of the midfield drivers in the Next-Gen era. He has won two races with Hayk Motorsports (previously JTDG Racing) since 2022, with the 2023 Daytona 500 victory being the highlight.
When Ricky Stenhouse Jr. first got promoted to the Cup series, there were a lot of expectations on his shoulders as he was a two-time Xfinity Series champion. However, he failed to establish himself properly earlier in his career, resulting in him often getting overlooked as a top talent and losing the chance to race for the big teams.
Some drivers might use this lack of recognition as the motivation to succeed and prove them wrong. But Junior has another approach to this, as he isn’t focused on proving them wrong; instead, he wants to focus on people who trusted him in tough times and prove them right.
I tell our team this all the time: I’m not there to prove people wrong. I want to prove the people we have in our shop right because we all believe that we can do it.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. told ESPN.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. declares the expectations are less for him now
Earlier talking about the point, Stenhouse Jr. pointed out that the fans no longer have the same level of expectations of him as they used to in his earlier years. The realization has settled in about the limit of his car and the team, so they have more attainable goals set for him.
I think the expectations are probably less [now] than when I came into the Cup Series. There’s a little bit dynamic there of what we look like and look for in success.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. said.
The Hayk Motorsports team with their rebrand and changes ahead of the 2025 season have the main objective of continuing to win at least a race a season. It would be interesting to see if Junior can deliver them the goals and help them to make it into the playoffs.
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Justin P Joy
(4965 Articles Published)