Stenhouse signs to drive for JTG Daugherty

Charlotte, N.C. — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. landed the open seat at JTG Daugherty Racing in a multiyear deal announced Wednesday that essentially makes a seat swap with Chris Buescher and the Roush Fenway Racing team.

Buescher had a clause in his contract that gave him a rare opportunity to leave the No. 47 Chevrolet of JTG and return to Roush Fenway Racing. That move happened last month and came as a surprise to Stenhouse, who thought he was signed through 2021 to drive the No. 6 Ford.

Dumped into a tight freeagent market with no warning, Stenhouse made quick use of a new management team owned by Kevin Harvick, and the KHI group needed less than a month to get Stenhouse’s deal complete.

The 32-year-old Stenhouse moves to a two-car Chevrolet team with JTG Daugherty that is consistently inconsistent, but it’s ultimately a soft landing from his harsh booting after 10 seasons with Roush Fenway in the Ford family. The deal makes sense, too: The smaller JTG team is fighting for growth and some sustained competitiveness, while Stenhouse is a Mississippi native who prefers quiet life in the country.

“JTG has grown from a small team in a barn to a twocar team with more than 100 employees and I am looking forward to joining the family,” he said. “I am ready to go win races with the ultimate goal of making the playoffs and competing for a championship.”

Stenhouse is a two-time Xfinity Series champion but made the playoffs just once in seven seasons, despite driving what team owner Jack Roush considers the anchor car of his two-car organization. Stenhouse has just two career wins at the Cup Series level.