Stenhouse scores 1st Cup victory with last-lap pass
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — It’s been a long journey for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to make his way to victory lane.
When he finally got there, in his 158th career NASCAR Cup start, his team owner and famous girlfriend were waiting.
His father? Well, he was a little late to the party.
A last-lap pass of Kyle Busch in overtime Sunday got Stenhouse the win at Talladega, which was the first for resurgent Roush Fenway Racing since 2014. Danica Patrick, who had wrecked out of the race, was in street clothes and able to lean into the car to give her boyfriend a congratulatory kiss.
“Pulling into victory lane and seeing Jack and Danica standing there together, they’re the same height, it was super special,” he said. “She’s been so supportive and knows how hard that I’ve worked, and to have her there was really awesome.”
Ricky Stenhouse Sr. needed a police escort.
The elder Stenhouse tried to climb a fence along the Talladega backstretch and cross the track to find his way to the celebration. When that didn’t work, he began running along a perimeter road.
Security picked him up, placed him in a car and questioned him. Finally vetted, he was driven to victory lane to meet his son.
“My dad has done so much for me in my career,” Stenhouse said. “Everything that I’ve learned is from him, and you know, making sure that you have the right people around you is one of the things that he’s all about, making sure that you have people that respect you, that will
do anything for you, and man, he sacrificed a lot for me and my career.
“Everything that I know about racing I learned from him, and I’m glad that he was able to be here in Victory Lane.
It shouldn’t have gone any other way for Stenhouse, a winner at nearly every level who has struggled mightily in Cup because of Roush’s rebuilding phase.
A two-time champion in the Xfinity Series, Stenhouse has not transferred that success to the next level. Prior to this year, he had just seven top-five finishes and led just 44 career laps.
Now he’s in the All-Star race later this month, and has earned a spot in NASCAR’s playoffs.
“We’ve been terrible for a long time, but we’ve been getting better and better
every race,” said Stenhouse, who took time to note he “parked it” in victory lane for his late friend, Bryan Clauson.
“I think you go through that so long that you almost lose a little — all your confidence. There’s still things to clean up, and there’s still things to get a lot better at, but man, it feels awesome to have everybody at Roush Fenway stand behind us.”
Patrick had been packing in the couples’ motorhome, watching the race on television. She soon found herself sitting on the floor, cheering wildly over the final laps. When she reached his car, she leaned in for an admitted “big ‘ol kiss.”
“While I never want to crash out of a race ever, at least I was there for the moment when he pulled in and that’s the bright
side. And I got to watch him win,” she said. “I’m just so, so proud of him. He works his butt off. He works harder than any driver I know. He works tirelessly.”
Stenhouse started from the pole and praised the power from his Doug Yates-built Ford engine for the speed. Then he used that speed to snatch the race away with a lastlap pass of Busch.