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Ricky Stenhouse Jr can officially claim himself a Daytona 500 champion after overcoming adversity and a long period of futility. Stenhouse, driving the No. 47 Chevrolet, topped defending Cup Series champion Joey Logano in double overtime on Sunday, at Daytona International Speedway. He thus cemented his place among racing superstars.
Stenhouse Jr had been winless in the series since winning the summer race at Daytona in 2017. He won his third career Cup victory, after a gap of 199 races, celebrating his first triumph at Daytona.
"This race is monumental for your career. I want to keep winning. I want to keep coming back and want to get another Daytona 500. I look at a career like Martin Truex or Joey Logano — they had been in the Cup Series for a while and it took them a while to go contend for championships week in and week out. I feel like I am still capable of doing that."
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He has indulged in many activities in Chicago since Sunday night. These include climbing the Daytona International Speedway catch fence minutes after winning the race. Also, there was a trip to Waffle House in the early hours of Monday morning, VIP access on Monday afternoon at Disney, and eating a cheeseburger on Tuesday afternoon.
His victorious tour is far from done. He'll pay a visit to the JTG Daugherty Racing team facility on Wednesday and spend Thursday in New York City before flying to California for the race at Auto Club Raceway in Fontana this weekend.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr has surely made some memorable and highlight reel-worthy moments. He had no clue how he would celebrate a Daytona 500 victory.
The celebration appeared a little disappointing at first since he didn't perform any burnouts. Stenhouse Jr couldn't do them since he ran out of gas on the cool-down lap after winning the race.
Helio Castroneves, Tony Stewart, and others have all climbed the barrier during their celebrations in Indianapolis. Stenhouse Jr drove for Stewart in his sprint-car career before joining NASCAR, and while he has spoken with Stewart, they have not discussed his celebration.
While it was a career-defining event for Ricky Stenhouse Jr, he hopes it won't take another 199 Cup races for him to hoist another championship.
Fans congratulate Ricky Stenhouse Jr on winning the Daytona 500
The 65th annual Daytona 500, the longest race in terms of laps (212) and miles (530), concluded under caution after a multi-car incident occurred. Ricky Stenhouse Jr, who led at the start of the second overtime period, placed just enough distance between himself and Logano. The latter was driving the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, to be declared the winner by NASCAR when the yellow flag waved.
Fans all over social media congratulated the new Daytona champion.
