Ricky Stenhouse Jr strives to join elite company with another Daytona 500 victory

Daytona 500 play is here, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is looking to etch his sanction further into history.

The victor of the 2023 race, Stenhouse would go the 13th operator to instrumentality location the Daytona 500 checkered emblem twice.

After lying debased for a mates of months aft the play started, Stenhouse is "pumped" to get backmost to competitory racing.

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr., operator of the #47 Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet, celebrates successful triumph lane aft winning the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 astatine Daytona International Speedway connected Feb. 19, 2023 successful Daytona Beach, Florida. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

"I'm acceptable to go. My team, we got a batch of bully things moving with our team, and everybody's acceptable to go," Stenhouse told Fox News Digital successful a caller interview.

Stenhouse's triumph 3 years agone didn't precisely alteration his ain presumption of himself arsenic a driver, but helium knows that the Daytona 500 is wherever legacies are made.

"I deliberation it changed the mode possibly a batch of fans saw maine arsenic a driver. I mean, anytime you tin enactment Daytona 500 champion adjacent to your name, it’s thing that we've been striving for," helium said. "I mean, I ran my archetypal 500 successful 2012, and it took maine until 2023 to get that container marked. It was a immense triumph for a tiny squad similar ours. I felt similar that truly propelled america to person a large play that year, and I inactive consciousness similar we're taking momentum from that. Even though past play wasn't the play that we wanted it to be, we’ll inactive amusement up to the 500 this twelvemonth precise assured that we're gonna person a changeable to spell win."

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., operator of the #47 Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet, drives during signifier for the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 astatine Daytona International Speedway connected Feb. 17, 2023, successful Daytona Beach, Florida. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

FAMED NASCAR, MOTORCROSS STAR RETURNING TO DAYTONA WEEKEND WITH HIGHER PURPOSE FOR VETERANS, FIRST RESPONDERS

Since then, Stenhouse has won conscionable 1 race: the 2024 YellaWood 500 astatine Talladega. Winning successful NASCAR, of course, is not easy, and it's a changeless caput crippled for anyone successful the sport.

"It’s precise akin to golf, arsenic in, you know, a bully season's gonna beryllium two, 3 wins, right? You'll person guys that leap into that 5 and six category, but it's not many. You'll spot guys marque a surviving connected top-10s, right? It’s tough," Stenhouse said. "But I deliberation for america and Hyak and our team, we got 35 employees, we're a tiny team, we benignant of cognize our place, we cognize our resources, the things that we have.

"If we tally top-15 weekly, that's going to beryllium a location tally for us. But I deliberation that's what benignant of keeps america motivated, keeps america going, not getting down, is, for one, each week is simply a antithetic course, a antithetic track. And you conscionable gotta prime your worldly up if it was a atrocious week and determination connected to the next."

So, however bash they debar that atrocious week? Or amended yet, however bash they person a palmy week?

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., operator of the #47 Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet, celebrates with his unit aft winning the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 astatine Daytona International Speedway connected Feb. 19, 2023, successful Daytona Beach, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

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"It takes a car that you're comfy with, that you tin instrumentality pushes, propulsion people, you tin maneuver it near and close truly quick. If you request to spell up the track, down the track, marque the blocks," Stenhouse said. "But past you person to person bully strategy arsenic well. You got to beryllium capable to prevention fuel, support your way position, and past erstwhile it's clip to travel down pit road, your pit crew's got to bash the occupation erstwhile you get successful the pit container to get you retired and marque definite you're inactive successful the pb erstwhile you travel backmost out. And I would accidental that's astir apt the astir hard portion astir winning the Daytona.

"So I would accidental here, lately, the past 3 years, 4 years astatine Daytona, that state antheral connected that past pit halt has been benignant of a crippled changer. He tin prevention you seconds, and seconds is simply a lot. So conscionable enactment yourself successful position, missing the wrecks, and the chaos, you ne'er cognize what's gonna happen."

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