Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.

Richard Lynn Stenhouse Jr. (born October 2, 1987) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hyak Motorsports and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 4/42/45 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Niece Motorsports. Stenhouse was the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year, and won back-to-back Nationwide Series championships in 2011 and 2012. Stenhouse was the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year. He is the 2023 Daytona 500 winner.

Racing career

Early career Stenhouse began kart racing at the age of six, and acquired 47 wins and ninety podium finishes by the time he moved into sprint car racing in 2003.

Beginning his sprint car racing career in 360 cubic inches winged sprint cars, Stenhouse won the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Driver Poll and Dirt Winged Sprint Car Rookie of the Year in 2003. He began racing in the USAC sprint car series in 2004, and in 2006 won National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Driver Poll Wild Card in both the 360 and 410 winged sprint car divisions. Stenhouse won dual Rookie of the Year honors in the United States Auto Club sprint car (finished 6th in the standings) and midget (finished 3rd in the standings) series in 2007.

In 2008, Stenhouse began his major-league stock car racing career in the ARCA Racing Series, driving for Roush Fenway Racing. On May 10, 2008, in only his sixth race in a stock car, he won his first ARCA RE/MAX Series event at the Drive Smart! Buckle Up Kentucky 150 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky. He had two wins in 21 races and finished fourth in the season ranking as a rookie.

NASCAR

2009–2012

In 2009, Stenhouse began competing in a partial schedule in the Nationwide Series at events that conflicted with the Sprint Cup schedule. He had his first top-ten finish at Kentucky Speedway when he finished ninth. At the following race in Milwaukee, he led 46 laps in the later stages of the race and finished fifth.

The 2010 season started horribly for Stenhouse, but he showed signs of life as the year went on. After crashing out of four out of the first ten races of the season (and crashing in practice also), Stenhouse was replaced by Brian Ickler for three races, and Billy Johnson drove at Watkins Glen. After taking on veteran Mike Kelley as crew chief, Stenhouse immediately responded with a third-place finish at Daytona. He proceeded to take seven top tens and was locked in a tight battle for Rookie of the Year (ROTY) with Brian Scott. With Scott struggling after his release from Turner Motorsports, Stenhouse took the ROTY award after a fourth-place finish at Homestead.

On May 22, 2011, Stenhouse held off charges from Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski for the final eighteen laps to claim his first win in the John Deere Dealers 250 at Iowa Speedway, his 51st start in the Nationwide Series.

Stenhouse made his Sprint Cup Series debut at the 2011 Coca-Cola 600, substituting for fellow Roush teammate Trevor Bayne. Stenhouse finished eleventh in the Wood Brothers Racing entry.

Stenhouse had dominated the Kroger 200 Nationwide Series race at Lucas Oil Raceway before being passed by Brad Keselowski late in the race. Stenhouse took his second Nationwide win at Iowa in August, again holding off teammate Carl Edwards, but more bizarrely, as Stenhouse's engine blew coming off of turn 4. Edwards subsequently rear-ended his teammate, pushing him across the line to the win.

At the end of the 2011 season, having scored sixteen top-five finishes, Stenhouse won the Nationwide Series championship by 45 points over Elliott Sadler.

Stenhouse drove the No. 6 Sprint Cup Series car for Roush Fenway Racing in the 2012 Daytona 500, finishing 20th.

In the Nationwide Series the previous day, Stenhouse had been caught up in a ten-car wreck on the final lap of the series' season-opening event; a week later he finished third at Phoenix, while a week after that Stenhouse won his first race of 2012 at Las Vegas, winning the Sam's Town 300, holding off Mark Martin to take the checkered flag; he would win races at Texas Motor Speedway and Iowa Speedway before suffering a run of bad luck starting at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Stenhouse would score three more victories at Atlanta, Charlotte, and Kansas. He once again held off Sadler to take his second consecutive Nationwide Series championship.

2013–2019: Roush Fenway Racing On June 26, 2012, Roush Fenway Racing announced that Stenhouse would drive the No. 17 car in the Sprint Cup Series full-time for 2013, replacing Matt Kenseth. Trevor Bayne replaced Stenhouse in the Nationwide No. 6 car for 2013.

To prepare for the 2013 season, Stenhouse ran in the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway, where he finished twelfth, the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he finished 35th because of engine problems, but he was running near the front of the field. He also ran in the season finale Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, in which bad luck struck again as he cut a tire and smacked the wall, similar to what happened to Marcos Ambrose two races before, in Texas. In all of these races, he ran in the No. 6 car of Roush Fenway Racing sponsored by Cargill, Best Buy, and Fifth Third Bank, respectively.

In 2013, Stenhouse competed full-time in the No. 17 Ford Fusion in the Sprint Cup Series. He was paired with rookie crew chief Scott Graves, who was formerly an engineer for Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse placed twelfth in his second Daytona 500 (his first with the No. 17 team) despite suffering crash damage on lap 134. Stenhouse led his first lap of Sprint Cup competition at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Later in the season, Stenhouse had his breakout race at Kansas, where he qualified third and led 26 laps before finishing eleventh. In qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Stenhouse won the pole position with a 29.227 lap time. Stenhouse recorded his first top-ten finish with a tenth-place finish at Richmond, followed by an eighth-place finish at Chicagoland. His best finish of the season was a third-place finish at Talladega behind Jamie McMurray and Dale Earnhardt Jr.. Stenhouse was eventually named Cup Series Rookie of the Year.

In 2014, both Stenhouse and Roush Fenway suffered through a dismal season. Stenhouse's best finish was a second-place showing at Bristol in the spring, a race won by teammate Carl Edwards, one of the few impressive showings by Roush in 2014. Stenhouse failed to qualify at Talladega in October and finished 27th in points.

After a slow start in 2015, Stenhouse nearly won the Food City 500, where he came home in fourth. After a weak summer, he had a consistent run of fifteenth or better in six of the last ten races, including two top-tens at Dover and Talladega. After poor performances at Martinsville and Phoenix, where he was as high as 22nd in the points standings, he fell to 25th at the season's end.

Stenhouse got off to a better start in 2016 than in 2015, including a top-ten run in Atlanta. He got his next top-ten at California in 2015. It took 29 races to get two Top 10s in the year; it took five in 2016. On March 1, his team announced that Sunny D would be his sponsor in select Cup and Xfinity Series races. On August 21, 2016, Stenhouse recorded a then-career-best second-place finish in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

After a gamble to stay out, Stenhouse restarted second with two to go at Phoenix on the Green-White-Checkered. He stacked up the line and caused Ryan Newman to cruise away to the finish. After a flat tire early on at Richmond, he rebounded to finish fourth. At Talladega's 2017 GEICO 500, Stenhouse won his second career Cup Series pole and his first since the 2013 Cup Series season. It was also RFR's first pole of the 2017 season. Stenhouse led the opening laps and then stayed mid-pack for the rest of the race. After Stenhouse avoided an eighteen-car pileup, he found himself in second place chasing Kyle Busch. After the final restart, Stenhouse passed Busch on the final lap for the win. It was his first Cup Series win, while RFR snapped its 101-race winless drought, dating back to Carl Edwards' victory in the 2014 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Stenhouse later picked up his second victory of the year at Daytona in July, passing David Ragan with two to go, further solidifying his spot in the 2017 Playoffs. In the Playoffs, at Chicago he had a rough showing with a not so strong car and commitment line penalty which he ended up in 25th. In the next race at New Hampshire, he hit the wall on lap three but recovered to finish fifteenth on the lead lap to tie Austin Dillon on points for the last spot. At Dover in the elimination race, he struggled early, starting in fourteenth, falling back to 23rd and off the lead lap, but took a risk of staying on the lead lap and got a caution while in third place and finished fourth in Stage 1, getting seven stage points. He would not earn any stage points in Stage 2 but finished 19th while Ryan Newman finished thirteenth, which proved enough for Stenhouse, as he finished above Newman by two points for the last playoff spot in the Round of 12 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Stenhouse was eliminated in the second round after failing to perform well enough in the races.

2018 started with decent results for Stenhouse, as he had consistent runs throughout the season. However, at Daytona, Stenhouse was mainly to blame for two accidents, and he was caught up in three crashes, ultimately finishing seventeenth, after winning the first two stages, and receiving a security escort after the race. He dropped to eighteenth in the final point standings as he failed to visit victory lane, missed the playoffs, and recorded only five top-ten finishes.

On August 1, 2019, Stenhouse announced he signed a contract extension with Roush Fenway Racing through 2021. However, on September 25, Roush Fenway Racing announced that Stenhouse will be replaced by Chris Buescher in 2020, with Roush using an option in their contract with Buescher. In the aftermath of the sudden dismissal from the team, which was criticized by some members of the racing community (Including Kevin Harvick), Roush president Steve Newmark said that, after ten years with the team, the relationship with Stenhouse had "run its course."

2020–present: JTG Daugherty Racing/Hyak Motorsports

On October 16, 2019, JTG Daugherty Racing announced Stenhouse would drive for them in 2020. On December 2, 2019, JTG Daugherty Racing announced that Stenhouse would be driving the 47 car, moving Ryan Preece to the 37.

On February 9, 2020, Stenhouse got off to a fast start by winning the pole for the Daytona 500.

Stenhouse Jr. narrowly lost the 2020 GEICO 500 to Ryan Blaney, spinning Aric Almirola about a hundred yards from the finish line, and nearly winning but coming up .007 short. Stenhouse scored three top-fives and four top-tens throughout the season, and all top-fives came in the first half of the regular season. Stenhouse was eliminated after the Round of 16.

Stenhouse began the 2024 season with a 31st-place DNF at the 2024 Daytona 500. At the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race, he was sent to the outside wall by Kyle Busch on lap 2. After the race, Stenhouse attacked Busch in the garage area, triggering a brawl between the drivers and their pit crews. NASCAR later fined Stenhouse 75,000 for the incident; in addition, his father, Ricky Stenhouse Sr., was suspended indefinitely while team mechanic Clint Myrick was suspended for eight races and tuner Keith Matthews was suspended for four races for their involvement in the fight. Stenhouse Sr.'s suspension was lifted on September 24. Despite mediocre finishes that left him out of playoff contention, Stenhouse won at Talladega after beating Brad Keselowski by .006 seconds.

Before the 2025 season, JTG Daugherty Racing became Hyak Motorsports. Stenhouse began the season with an 18th-place finish at the 2025 Daytona 500. Despite a promising start to the season in which he scored ten top-20 finishes in the first 15 races and climbed as high as 13th in the points standings, he ultimately struggled during the latter half of the regular season, missing the playoffs and ending the season 30th in the final standings with only three top-ten finishes.

Stenhouse began the 2026 season with an 2nd-place finish at the 2026 Daytona 500. He signed a contract extension with Hyak Motorsports on May 11.

Sprint car and midget racing Outside of NASCAR, Stenhouse is a car owner and part-time competitor in sprint car and midget racing. In 2012, he formed Stenhouse Jr. Racing and fielded the No. 41 car for Jason Johnson in the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS). In 2017, he partnered with Matt Wood to form Stenhouse Jr.-Wood Racing and fielded the No. 17 car for driver Joey Saldana in the World of Outlaws sprint car series.

After his first NASCAR Cup Series win at Talladega in May 2017, Stenhouse became one of only eight drivers to have won in the NASCAR Cup Series as well as in the USAC Silver Crown, National Sprint Car, and National Midget series, joining Mario Andretti, A. J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Larson, Ryan Newman, Ken Schrader, and Tony Stewart.

Personal life Stenhouse was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and was raised in Olive Branch, Mississippi. He is the first Mississippian driver to attempt a full-time schedule since Lake Speed in 1997. He started on dirt and then made a transition to stock cars in 2008.

Stenhouse is an Ole Miss Rebels football fan. In 2014, he led the Rebels onto the field before the annual Egg Bowl game versus in-state rival Mississippi State.

Stenhouse is a devout Baptist.

Stenhouse is a fan of classic country music.

Stenhouse was in a relationship with Danica Patrick from November 2012 to December 2017. In November 2021, Stenhouse announced his engagement to Madyson Goodfleisch, originally of Ashville, Ohio. They got married on October 26, 2022, in Charleston, South Carolina.

In media In 2016, Stenhouse competed on the show American Ninja Warrior which first aired on June 13; he did not make it past the second obstacle.

In June 2017, Stenhouse was a pit reporter for the Fox NASCAR broadcast of the Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway. A Cup drivers-only coverage, he worked alongside Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney.

Motorsports career results

Stock car career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Top 5 Top 10 Points Position 2008 ARCA Re/Max Series Roush Fenway Racing 21 2 10 14 5155 4th 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Roush Fenway Racing 8 0 1 2 677 62nd 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Roush Fenway Racing 33 0 3 8 3419 16th 2011 NASCAR Cup Series Wood Brothers Racing 1 0 0 0 0 NC† NASCAR Nationwide Series Roush Fenway Racing 34 2 16 26 1222 1st 2012 NASCAR Cup Series Roush Fenway Racing 4 0 0 0 0 NC† NASCAR Nationwide Series 33 6 19 26 1251 1st 2013 NASCAR Cup Series Roush Fenway Racing 36 0 1 3 909 19th NASCAR Nationwide Series 1 0 0 0 0 NC† 2014 NASCAR Cup Series Roush Fenway Racing 35 0 1 5 757 27th NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Bill McAnally Racing 1 0 1 1 40 52nd 2015 NASCAR Cup Series Roush Fenway Racing 36 0 1 3 712 25th 2016 NASCAR Cup Series Roush Fenway Racing 36 0 4 6 772 21st NASCAR Xfinity Series 1 0 1 1 0 NC† 2017 NASCAR Cup Series Roush Fenway Racing 36 2 4 9 2222 13th 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Roush Fenway Racing 36 0 3 5 701 18th 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Roush Fenway Racing 36 0 1 3 679 23rd 2020 NASCAR Cup Series JTG Daugherty Racing 36 0 3 4 584 24th 2021 NASCAR Cup Series JTG Daugherty Racing 36 0 1 2 666 22nd 2022 NASCAR Cup Series JTG Daugherty Racing 36 0 1 5 580 26th NASCAR Xfinity Series Big Machine Racing 2 0 0 0 0 NC† 2023 NASCAR Cup Series JTG Daugherty Racing 36 1 2 9 2168 16th 2024 NASCAR Cup Series JTG Daugherty Racing 36 1 3 6 590 25th 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Hyak Motorsports 36 0 1 3 562 30th † As Stenhouse Jr. was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Cup Series NASCAR Cup Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Pts Ref 2011 Wood Brothers Racing 21 Ford DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL MAR TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT KAN POC MCH SON DAY KEN NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH CHI NHA DOV KAN CLT TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 54th 01 2012 Roush Fenway Racing 6 Ford DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL MAR TEX KAN RCH TAL DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON KEN DAY NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH CHI NHA DOV TAL CLT KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM 61st 01 2013 17 DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL MAR TEX KAN RCH TAL DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON KEN DAY NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH CHI NHA DOV KAN CLT TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 19th 909 2014 DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL MAR TEX DAR RCH TAL KAN CLT DOV POC MCH SON KEN DAY NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH CHI NHA DOV KAN CLT TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 27th 757 2015 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL KAN CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY KEN NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH CHI NHA DOV CLT KAN TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 25th 712 2016 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL KAN DOV CLT POC MCH SON DAY KEN NHA IND POC GLN BRI MCH DAR RCH CHI NHA DOV CLT KAN TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 21st 772 2017 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL KAN CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY KEN NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH CHI NHA DOV CLT TAL KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM 13th 2222 2018 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV KAN CLT POC MCH SON CHI DAY KEN NHA POC GLN MCH BRI DAR IND LVS RCH ROV DOV TAL KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM 18th 701 2019 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV KAN CLT POC MCH SON CHI DAY KEN NHA POC GLN MCH BRI DAR IND LVS RCH ROV DOV TAL KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM 23rd 679 2020 JTG Daugherty Racing 47 Chevy DAY LVS CAL PHO DAR DAR CLT CLT BRI ATL MAR HOM TAL POC POC IND KEN TEX KAN NHA MCH MCH DRC DOV DOV DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL ROV KAN TEX MAR PHO 24th 584 2021 DAY DRC HOM LVS PHO ATL BRD MAR RCH TAL KAN DAR DOV COA CLT SON NSH POC POC ROA ATL NHA GLN IRC MCH DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL ROV TEX KAN MAR PHO 22nd 666 2022 DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH MAR BRD TAL DOV DAR KAN CLT GTW SON NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IRC MCH RCH GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 26th 580 2023 DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH BRD MAR TAL DOV KAN DAR CLT GTW SON NSH CSC ATL NHA POC RCH MCH IRC GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 16th 2168 2024 DAY ATL LVS PHO BRI COA RCH MAR TEX TAL DOV KAN DAR CLT GTW SON IOW NHA NSH CSC POC IND RCH MCH DAY DAR ATL GLN BRI KAN TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 25th 590 2025 Hyak Motorsports DAY ATL COA PHO LVS HOM MAR DAR BRI TAL TEX KAN CLT NSH MCH MXC POC ATL CSC SON DOV IND IOW GLN RCH DAY DAR GTW BRI NHA KAN ROV LVS TAL MAR PHO 30th 562 2026 DAY ATL COA PHO LVS DAR MAR BRI KAN TAL TEX GLN CLT NSH MCH POC COR SON CHI ATL NWS IND IOW RCH NHA DAY DAR GTW BRI KAN LVS CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM -* -*

Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish 2012 Roush Fenway Racing Ford 20 20 2013 28 12 2014 34 7 2015 32 29 2016 19 22 2017 23 31 2018 9 29 2019 5 13 2020 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 1 20 2021 21 18 2022 18 28 2023 31 1 2024 35 31 2025 Hyak Motorsports 31 18 2026 16 2

Xfinity Series NASCAR Xfinity Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Pts Ref 2009 Roush Fenway Racing 16 Ford DAY CAL LVS BRI TEX NSH PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW NHA DAY CHI GTW IRP IOW GLN MCH BRI CGV ATL RCH DOV KAN CAL MEM TEX PHO HOM 62nd 677 17 CLT 2010 6 DAY CAL LVS BRI NSH PHO TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT NSH KEN ROA NHA DAY CHI GTW IRP IOW GLN MCH BRI CGV ATL RCH DOV KAN CAL CLT GTW TEX PHO HOM 16th 3419 2011 DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX TAL NSH RCH DAR DOV IOW CLT CHI MCH ROA DAY KEN NHA NSH IRP IOW GLN CGV BRI ATL RCH CHI DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM 1st 1222 2012 DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX RCH TAL DAR IOW CLT DOV MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW GLN CGV BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 1st 1251 2013 16 DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX RCH TAL DAR CLT DOV IOW MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM 115th 01 2016 Roush Fenway Racing 60 Ford DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV CLT POC MCH IOW DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 99th 01 2022 Big Machine Racing 48 Chevy DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH MAR TAL DOV DAR TEX CLT PIR NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IRC MCH GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 104th 01

Craftsman Truck Series NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Pts Ref 2026 Niece Motorsports 45 Chevy DAY ATL STP DAR CAR -* -* 4 BRI TEX GLN DOV CLT NSH 42 MCH COR LRP NWS IRP RCH NHA BRI KAN CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM

Season still in progress Ineligible for series points

ARCA Re/Max Series (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) ARCA Re/Max Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Pts Ref 2008 Roush Fenway Racing 99 Ford DAY SLM IOW KAN CAR KEN TOL POC MCH CAY KEN BLN POC NSH ISF DSF CHI SLM NJM TAL TOL 4th 5155

K&N Pro Series West NASCAR K&N Pro Series West results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pts Ref 2014 Bill McAnally Racing 99 Ford PHO IRW S99 IOW KCR SON SLS CNS IOW EVG KCR MMP AAS PHO 52nd 40