NASCAR is a challenging sport for smaller teams competing against giants like Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Team Penske. This season, one-driver teams have struggled, with Justin Haley finishing 31st in the standings with Rick Ware Racing, while both Wood Brothers Racing and JTG Daugherty Racing have faced similar challenges.

Despite the difficulties, these teams continue to compete, hoping for a breakthrough. Harrison Burton’s win at Daytona earned Wood Brothers a playoff spot, and recently, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. delivered JTG Daugherty’s first victory of the season at Talladega. Team owner and NBA legend Brad Daugherty shared insights into the hardships and rewards of running a one-driver team in NASCAR.

Brad Daugherty dwells upon the success

The team, owned by former advertising executive Tad Geschickter, his wife Jodi, and former NBA All-Star Brad Daugherty, entered NASCAR in 1995 as ST Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. It wasn’t until Daugherty joined in 2009 that they began competing full-time in the Cup Series. Like many single-driver teams, they’ve faced challenges, securing just three wins in 753 race starts.

Their first victory came in 2014 when AJ Allmendinger triumphed at Watkins Glen, marking the team’s best season with a 13th-place finish overall. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. then clinched their second win at the 2023 Daytona 500. Most recently, he delivered a third victory for the team in a chaotic Talladega race, playing spoiler in the 2024 playoffs. This win is a significant morale boost for a team that rarely finds itself in victory lane. Daugherty recently reflected on this triumph during an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, emphasizing what it means for their journey.

He said, “You win that race and you realize that coming into that teams like mine, the smaller teams, that’s the only time you get talked about when you come to Daytona, Talladega and only time that anyone ever recognizes you, gives you any type of respect is when you go to these races, Superspeedway races. You know you win one of these things it’s hard. It’s hard, period. “

The #47 team has continued to struggle this season as well. Stenhouse Jr., in the 31 races, has only managed three top-5s and is currently 24th in the points standings. The photo finish at the Talladega, where Stenhouse beat Brad Keselowski by six one-thousandth of a second, is a result of all the hard work the team has put in.

Further in the conversation, Daugherty spoke about their grind, he said, “It’s hard but when you do win it that pressure releases and all the time sitting on the airplane scratching your head, trying to figure out what you did so wrong that you had such a bad day instead of just a decent day. And getting home at 2 o’clock in the morning, getting in the shower, getting in the bed, getting back up at 7 o’clock, get back at the race shop doing it again. It’s some really hard days, there’s some dog days for small teams, but days like yesterday, make it completely worth it. One hundred percent.

Even Ricky Stenhouse Jr. echoed the same emotions after getting his fourth career Cup Series win.

Can Ricky Stenhouse Jr. earn JTGD the success they have been longing for?

Stenhouse Jr. was part of a trade between Roush Fenway Racing and JTG Daugherty in 2020 when he took the #47 car from Chris Buescher. With the team, he has so far managed to get ten top-5 finishes and 26 top-10 finishes. Dwelling upon what went into getting the third win of his team, Stenhouse said, “But, man, this team has put a lot of hard work in. Obviously, we haven’t won since the (Daytona) 500 in ’23. It’s been an up-and-down season. It was a lot of hard work this season just trying to find a little bit of speed, but we knew that this track is one of ours to come get.”

Although being a one-driver team, Stenhouse Jr. has the potential to take JTG Daugherty to new heights. After all, the 37-year-old is a two-time Xfinity Series champion. He bagged back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012. For the majority of his NASCAR Cup Series career so far, Jr. has raced with Roush Fenway Racing (7 seasons). And along with him, he brings the experience of having driven for a championship-winning team. Stenhouse Jr.’s best Cup season was also with RFR. In 2o17, when he bagged 2 wins and ended the season in 13th place.

While he’s failed to bring the same form in JTGD so far, his Talladega run shows promise. The #47 driver started the race in 32nd-second place, he was quick to climb up the pack and end up in P2 in stage one. Eventually, after leading 19 laps, he took the chequered flag. Hopefully, he can show a similar run at the next race as well. Brad Daughtery is excited about it, he even said, “We cannot wait to get to Charlotte this weekend and run the ROVAL.” He is hoping to continue the same momentum and bag another win.

What do you think is Stenhouse Jr.’s future with JTGD?