Ricky Stenhouse Makes Dirt History with Daytona Win

By Matt Weaver, Special Contributor

In winning the Daytona 500, Stenhouse joined an exclusive club of drivers who cut their teeth in open wheel dirt cars.

He is just one of five USAC Silver Crown, National Sprint Car and National Midget winners to have won the Daytona 500. That list also includes Mario Andretti, AJ Foyt, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman.

With his first victory at the highest level in the discipline back in 2017, Stenhouse had become only the eighth driver to win in USAC Silver Crown, National Sprint Car, National Midget and the Cup Series.

That list also includes Andretti, Foyt, Gordon, Larson, Newman, Kenny Schrader and Tony Stewart.

It means a lot to the current holder of the Harley J. Earl trophy.

“Yeah, it’s special to me,” Stenhouse said on Sunday. “I know Kyle has done a lot for dirt track racing, open wheel racing. Christopher Bell, you look at what Alex Bowman is doing now going back and forth and running sprint cars.

“I have a lot of fun running with my dad. We don’t run as much as everybody else does, but definitely still a short track dirt racer.

“I know how long and how important this race was when Tony, my former boss, tried to win this race for a long time. I looked up on the screen during one of those late cautions when the 8 was leading, and they were showing I think it was his 17th attempt, and it was our 12th. I know how hard it is for guys to win this race, and it’s nice to go ahead and get that checked off the list.”

Stenhouse won in Silver Crown back in 2007 at Manzanita and the Illinois State Fairgrounds. He finished third in the 2007 USAC Midget standings with wins at Tri-State, Junction, Knoxville, Kokomo, and Eldora. In USAC Sprint win also came in 2007 at Big Diamond Speedway.