After a six-year dry spell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr is once again on the brink of bursting into the playoffs. His victory lap at the Daytona 500 in February 2023, the longest in the race’s history of 530 miles, was a feather in his cap. Recently, while talking about the same, Stenhouse Jr, who cut his teeth driving sprint cars for Tony Stewart before making it to NASCAR’s elite circuit, offered a rare peek behind the curtain with a stirring tale featuring none other than Tony Stewart.

Following his seismic victory at the Daytona 500, the pathbreaking pilot of JTG Daugherty Racing laid bare some captivating revelations about his erstwhile mentor, Stewart, in an intimate dialogue with FOX Sports.

Basking in the glow of “a proud dad moment,” Stenhouse Jr fondly recalls his encounter with Tony Stewart post-race

As a former sprint-car racer under the wing of NASCAR Hall of Famer Stewart, Stenhouse has been a star with untapped potential, often tripping over his own shoelaces. His current driving gig is with a team that had tasted victory just once before—AJ Allmendinger’s triumph at Watkins Glen in 2014.

Over a span of a decade in the racing industry, Stenhouse’s laurels were sparse, with a couple of victories tucked under his belt in 2017. He joined the ranks of JTG Daugherty Racing in 2020, yet victories remained elusive. Each year, he was a no-show in the playoffs, never climbing higher than 22nd in the standings, and even ended up 26th last year—his lowest points finish since 2014.

However, the Daytona 500 victory in 2023 signaled a turning of the tide for Stenhouse. Reminiscing the same, when the FoxSports reporter quizzed him about reminding Tony Stewart of this victory, his response was underscored with respect, implying that Stewart doesn’t require reminders.

Although, he did paint a vivid picture of his visit to Stewart’s bus after the race, saying, “Going to his bus after the race, he took my ring off and was looking at it. You could tell what emotions were going through his mind and kind of how proud he was of me.

“I raced for Tony, and he did a lot for me in my career to get me to where I am. And you can see that he was kind of a proud dad moment there, looking at that ring. He definitely said he would trade a championship for it.”

Although he needs to clinch more victories in order to bolt his position in the playoffs, for now, he has simply been etched in history as the 2023 Daytona 500 Champion.

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr basks in the glory of winning a Daytona 500

Ricky Stenhouse Jr kicked off the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season with a lot of energy. Even though he’s only seen the top-10 finish line six times in the 23 regular-season races since then, the taste of victory at the Daytona 500 after such a hiatus was a heady cocktail of emotions.

During a chat with Bob Pockrass, Stenhouse Jr. reflected, “It’s been nice. It’s nice being introduced as a Daytona 500 champion. Just knowing we were, especially that week, just represent the sport and the 75th anniversary and getting it kicked off […] For me, it’s unreal to be in that club. We worked really hard for that.”

These recollections certainly underscore the depth of relationships forged in the furnace of racing, how victories are communal triumphs, and the invaluable role of Stewart’s mentorship in shaping Stenhouse’s career. Still, to leave an indelible mark on NASCAR, Ricky Stenhouse Jr needs to notch up more victories. With the clock ticking and just four races left on the table, Stenhouse Jr might need to steer clear of the tumultuous final lap pile-ups and set his sights on the winner’s circle.

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