NASCAR CUP SERIES: DAYTONA 500

February 19, 2023

Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Frontstretch Quotes

An Interview with:

Q. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., it has been a long time coming. The one difference? Mike Kelley, your crew chief, is back. You won two championships together, and now you won the Daytona 500. Was it just magic together that made the difference here?

RICKY STENHOUSE JR: Yeah, I think this whole off-season Mike just preached how much we all believed in each other. They left me a note in the car that said they believe in me and to go get the job done tonight. I made a few mistakes. We were able to battle back.

This Kroger Continental team worked really, really hard in 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.

Q. You have a knack for this style of racing, and we went into overtime, so you had to do it a couple of times and earn it. What were those moments like, and what were you watching, what made the difference initially at the end?

RICKY STENHOUSE JR: Yeah, when the 8 went to the bottom there I was able to push the 22 and the 5. We had a huge run. I was hoping we were going to get to the white there, and we didn't, so I knew I was going to take the top. I was hoping the 22 was going to follow, and he did. He was able to push us out.

I went to the bottom, the 8 and the 22 got a huge run. The 5 split me in the middle, but another fellow dirt racer with Bell gave me a good shot down the little short chute into 1, and we were out front when the caution came out. We were out of fuel so the fuel light was going crazy.

I hope y'all had fun. That was a heck of a race.