By Kent Whitaker
Ricky Stenhouse Jr has a reputation around the NASCAR Cup Series garage for being a good driver on superspeedways. The driver of the No. 47 Chevrolet Camero for JTG Daugherty Racing had two wins on the big tracks heading into the 2023 Daytona 500.
But those wins came in 2017 and some were asking if Stenhouse’s winning days were behind him. Nope! He earned his third Cup win at Daytona International Speedway by grabbing the checkered flag at the season-opening Great American Race!
Stenhouse started the race deep in the field following qualifying and the Daytona Duals. His position on the starting grid was the 31st spot. That did not slow him down as he was able to make it towards the front quickly.
He finished outside of the top ten when the flag dropped on the opening stage but finished the second stage in 3rd place.
The problem with tracks such as Daytona and Talladega is that you can get shuffled to the back, or caught up in a wreck, in the blink of an eye. Stenhouse managed to stay mid-pack or better during much of the closing stage as was In perfect position to make his move when the Daytona 500 entered the final laps.
Cautions Slow to Come at First
Things started as most Daytona 500 races do. There was a combination of green flag runs and lead changes common to pack racing. But this year, Stage 1 seemed to be trouble-free when compared to past Daytona races. Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman stayed out front for much of the stage. Then Christopher Bell made a nice move to get to the front as green flag racing in two lines continued.
Jimmie Johnson, who made his return to NASCAR for the Daytona 500, moved from the back to mid-pack and showed that he seemed to be as comfortable as ever. The most excitement during the opening stage happened when most of the Fords in the race peeled off toward the pits. That started a chain reaction as other Manufacturers followed.
Riley Herbst entered the pits too fast and spun across the commitment line which garnished a pass-through penalty. The race stayed green during his spin and the stage ended with Bubba Wallace slapping the outside wall and going a lap down with eleven laps to go in the opening. Brad Keselowski crossed the line first to end Stage 1.
Stage 2 opened with several Fords out front led by Brad Keselowski. Things continued this way until Kevin Harvick got into the back of Tyler Redick causing Redick to take out several cars after making contact with Ryan Blaney. The day was done for Reddick, Erik Jones, and Chase Elliott. Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., and Daniel Suárez were also involved but managed to stay in the race.
Stage 3 Does Not Disappoint
The final Stage of the 2023 Daytona 500 got underway with Ryan Blaney bringing out the caution as debris started shedding from his damaged car. The damage came from his involvement in the wreck which took out Elliott and others. Alex Bowman suffered some damage after contact which cause him to drift into a smoky half-spin. He was able to save the car and make it to his pit box.
As the laps of the 2023 Great American Race dwindled it looked like RFK Racing and Ford would have a great day. Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski linked up and stayed out front for several laps. But this was the calm before the storm as lead changes started to increase with Denny Hamlin making his move toward the front pack before a round of green flag stops started. Stenhouse was knocked for exiting too fast and sent to the back.
He did not stay there long as he was making his way through slower, and damaged cars, as the next big wreck unfolded. Several cars made contact with each other coming out of the banking. Truex, Ryan Preece, Michael McDowell, and other drivers were involved including Harvick. Fox broadcaster Mike Joy made note of a strange thing about the incident stating that Truex drove the No. 19 car and wrecked with 19 laps left in his 19th Daytona 500 start on Feb. 19.
After a re-start, it was once again Keselowski making his way to the front with Buescher and Kyle Busch but they would not stay there long as Daniel Suarez lost control and spun. The caution waved just as Busch took the front spot with only three laps to go. Austin Dillon took the lead after the green flag dropped but he was almost instantly involved in a massive wreck that ended the day for several drivers.
Stenhouse had made a move to the front of the field just as that wreck started to unfold. That put him on the front row alongside Kyle Larson for the start of the second overtime. When the green flag dropped both Stenhouse and Larson made their way into turn one with the field close behind. Joey Logano made a move to the outside and pulled close to the front as Larson was pushed into the middle.
At the same time. Aric Almirola tapped the car of Travis Pastrana which started to spin into the back of Larson. The hit from the rear sent Larson nose-first into the wall setting off a chain reaction as cars collided with each other. NASCAR determined that Stenhouse had taken the lead back from Logano when the caution flag waved making him the winner of the 2023 Daytona 500.
It was the first win of the season for the single car JTG- Daugherty team and the first time a single-car team had won the Daytona 500 since Wood Brothers Racing did so in 2011 when Trevor Bayne took home the win. Stenhouse commented on how much his team and crew chief Mike Kelly had kept him motivated after a disappointing 2022 season.
“I think this whole offseason, 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,” Stenhouse said. “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.”
Beating the Oddsmakers
Oddsmakers love leaning on big names for big races! This year it was no different for the season-opening Daytona 500. Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott were among the favorites to win outright. Here are the opening odds that were available just before the race started.
Ryan Blaney +1200
Denny Hamlin +1200
Kyle Larson +1200
Chase Elliott +1200
Joey Logano +1400
Kyle Busch +1400
As you can see, Stenhouse was not in the mix but oddsmakers did come close to being correct as Joey Logano finished 2nd and several of the above favorites listed were in the mix when the race ended. Joey commented on almost winning.
“Second is the worst, man,” Logano said during a post-race interview. “Congratulations to Ricky. There’s nothing like winning the Daytona 500. That’s why it stings so much finishing second.”
Stage One Winners
- Brad Keselowski
- Ryan Preece
- Chris Buescher
- Kevin Harvick
- Michael McDowell
- Ty Gibbs
- Jimmie Johnson
- Aric Almirola
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Todd Gilliland
Stage Two Winners
- Ross Chastain
- Alex Bowman
- Joey Logano
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Austin Cindric
- Martin Truex Jr.
- William Byron
- AJ Allmendinger
- Chris Buescher
- Christopher Bell
Official Finishing Order 2023 Daytona 500
1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr 212 running
2. Joey Logano 212 running
3. Christopher Bell 212 running
4. Chris Buescher 212 running
5. Alex Bowman 212 running
6. A.J. Allmendinger 212 running
7. Daniel Suarez 212 running
8. Ryan Blaney 212 running
9. Ross Chastain 212 running
10. Riley Herbst 212 running
11. Travis Pastrana 212 running
12. Kevin Harvick 212 running
13. Zane Smith 212 running
14. Cody Ware 212 running
15. Martin Truex Jr 212 running
16. Corey Lajoie 212 running
17. Denny Hamlin 212 running
18. Kyle Larson 211 crash
19. Kyle Busch 211 crash
20. Bubba Wallace 211 crash
21 Aric Almirola 211 crash
22. Brad Keselowski 211 crash
23. Austin Cindric 210 crash
24. Noah Gragson 210 running
25. Ty Gibbs 210 running
26. Harrison Burton 210 running
27. Todd Gilliland 208 crash
28. Michael McDowell 208 running
29. Conor Daly 206 running
30. B.J. McLeod 204 running
31. Jimmie Johnson 203 crash
32. Justin Haley 203 crash
33. Austin Dillon 202 crash
34. William Byron 202 crash
35. Chase Briscoe 182 crash
36. Ryan Preece 181 crash
37. Erik Jones 118 crash
38. Chase Elliott 118 crash
39. Tyler Reddick 117 crash
40. Ty Dillon 26 engine
2023 Daytona 500 Stats via NASCAR Stats
In all, only 17 of the 40 cars that started the 2023 Daytona 500 crossed the finish line on the lead lap with 23 finishing the race. Seventeen cars were behind the wall at the finish of the race.
Time of race: 3:38:53
Average speed: 145.283 mph
Pole speed: 181.686 mph
Cautions: 8 for 38 laps
Lead changes: 52
Most Laps as the Leader: Brad Keselowski/42
Green flag passes: 11,538 (66.3 per green flag lap)
- NASCAR
“Kent Whitaker, often called ‘the Deck Chef’ is a sportswriter, culinary writer, and cookbook author with fourteen titles. He covers NASCAR, racing in general, Football, barbecue, grilling, and tailgating. You can visit him on www.thedeckchef.com .”