Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Wins Longest Daytona 500 in History – Orange County Register

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has had a rollercoaster career, struggling to keep a job, losing his seat on a NASCAR powerhouse team and opening his 14th season in a five-year losing streak.

To say that this Daytona 500 was a milestone race would be an understatement – for Stenhouse and for NASCAR.

Stenhouse won the Daytona 500 in double overtime and under caution on Sunday in the longest running The Great American Race. The two extensions brought the 65th edition of the race to a record 212 laps – a dozen laps over the planned distance and a whopping 530 miles.

It made for anxious moments before a landmark celebration: the first Daytona 500 winning team co-owned by a black man and woman.

Stenhouse’s win for JTG Daugherty Racing was the third of his career. JTG is the first single car team to win the Daytona 500 since The Wood Brothers Racing did it with Trevor Bayne in 2011.

The team is owned by Tad and Jodi Geschicker along with former NBA player Brad Daugherty. Jodi Geschickter is the first female car owner to win the Daytona 500, while Daugherty, who left the track earlier Sunday with an eye irritation, became the first black woman car owner to win the race.

Throughout it all, JTG stuck by Stenhouse, even reuniting him this season with the crew chief who guided him to two Xfinity series titles years ago.

Mike Kelly’s biggest challenge was convincing Sthouse that he could actually win races. So, in front of the Daytona 500, he stuck a note inside the Chevrolet. The message? The team believes in the driver.

“When I woke up today, I told myself I would do something I used to do for Ricky when we had rough days,” Kelly said. “I just wrote him a note that only he would see. It was on top of the roll bar in front of him, and it just said, ‘We believe.’ That was our motto the whole offseason – we believe in that.

“We’re trying to get people to believe in Ricky Stenhouse Jr. again.”

Stenhouse’s only other wins came at Talladega in 2017 and at the Daytona summer race.

Now the 35-year-old from Olive Branch, Mississippi, has clinched a repeat victory in NASCAR’s biggest race of the season at Daytona.

“I think Mike has been just preaching this whole offseason about how much we all believe in each other. They left me a note in the car saying to believe in me and get the job done,” Stenhouse said. “Man, that’s incredible. This was the side of my last win in 2017. We worked really hard. We had a few shots to win last year and fell short.

“It’s been a tough season but man we did it, Daytona 500.”

Kyle Larson was caught falling at the end of the race after jumping out of line too early to win the race. His disappointment was tempered by Stenhouse’s victory.

“Happy that Ricky won. I’m super happy. That’s all I could think about after falling and waiting for him to win,” Larson said. “He’s one of my best friends so I would have screamed into my helmet helping him get him to the top there. I was hoping it would stay green so I or he would have won.

“I can’t wait to get changed and give him a big hug because he’s one of my awesome buddies.”

Reigning Cup Champion Joey Logano was second in a Ford for Team Penske, who won last year’s race with Austin Cindric.

“Second is the worst, man,” said Logano. “Congratulations to Ricky. There’s nothing like winning the Daytona 500. That’s why finishing second hurts so much.”

Christopher Bell was third in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, followed by Chris Buescher in a Ford for RFK Racing and pole sitter Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports in a Chevrolet. It was the first time the pole sitter had finished in the top five since Bill Elliott in 2001.

AJ Allmendinger was sixth for Kaulig Racing, Daniel Suarez seventh for Trackhouse Racing and Ryan Blaney eighth for Team Penske. Trackhouse’s Ross Chastain and Rick Ware Racing’s Riley Herbst completed the top 10.

Action sports star Travis Pastrana finished eleventh in his Daytona 500 debut and Kevin Harvick finished twelfth in his last Daytona 500. Harvick is retiring at the end of the year.

Kyle Busch dropped to 0 for 18 in the Daytona 500 but competed for his new Richard Childress Racing team. He was the leader ahead of teammate Austin Dillon with three laps left in the rule when a spin by Daniel Suarez highlighted caution and sent the race into overtime.