TALLADEGA, Ala.: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. earned his best finish with JTG Daugherty Racing in Monday’s postponed GEICO 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
Starting 20th was no problem for the driver of the No. 47 NOS Energy Drink Chevrolet as a fast race propelled him forward and throughout the 191-lap race, the Olive Branch, Mississippi native kept himself in contention for third career NASCAR Cup Series victory.
And even though track position proved to be challenging at times, Stenhouse was able to use his aggressive style of drafting to his advantage, especially in the closing laps of the race.
When the caution waved with three laps to go, Stenhouse had muscled his way from 11th to back inside the top-five but also found himself in fuel conservation mode.
In NASCAR overtime, Stenhouse restarted second but found himself locked with Ryan Blaney on the last lap of the race where the two had to fend off the challengers of Erik Jones and Aric Almirola.
In tight quarters coming to the checkered flag, Stenhouse emerged from the beating and banging and spinning race cars to finish just 0.007-seconds behind Blaney, collecting his third top-five finish of the 2020 season.
“We were so close there at the end,” said Stenhouse. “It was hard all day trying to break up the Penske cars and then there at the end, all the blue ovals were together. But, our No. 47 NOS Energy Drink Camaro ZL1 1LE was really fast all day.
“The boys brought a good one. I thought we had a shot there at the end, it just didn’t work out. But, all-in-all, a solid day. Really cool to see all the support of the fans that are here for Bubba (Wallace). That was a really special moment at the beginning of the race. We came up one spot short – we’ll go get them next week!”
Thinking he had a shot to swipe the lead from Blaney on the restart, Stenhouse broke down what transpired over the final five miles of the race.
We didn’t get a great restart,” admitted Stenhouse. “Blaney and I didn’t get hooked up good enough. That seemed to let the outside lane get a run. It let the 4 and the 17 out front.
“But what that intended to do was let me and the 12 (Blaney) get hooked up and get a draft from those two cars that were out front. I pushed Blaney really hard down the back straightaway. When we went into three and four, wasn’t sure what direction I wanted to go. We ended up going low. Then I thought I was done. Thought I was a sitting duck. The outside lanes were coming. The 20 (Erik Jones) had a good run.
“Then they started banging fenders, slowing each other down. I just kept on the throttle, was able to get close to the nose of the 12 there coming across the line.”
With another solid finish in the books, Stenhouse explained how his relationship with Brian Pattie is working in his first year at JTG Daugherty, just past the halfway point in the regular Cup Series season.
“It’s been great,” said Stenhouse of his new tenure. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it from the first time we went over there, sat down with Tad and Jodi (Geschickter) and Ernie (Cope) and ate dinner. I felt welcomed. I felt like it’s a family atmosphere. Also, they get the job done.
“Any money that comes in they put right back into our race team buying parts and equipment, making sure we can perform the best that we can perform with what we got.
“The Kroger family is one that I’m proud to be a part of. My mom has shopped there for 35 years so far and continues to shop there. Now having NOS Energy Drink on board with us, it’s been a good chemistry from the top down, including our partners. I’ve enjoyed it so far.”
And while Stenhouse won’t shine away from the inconsistency of his finishes, he says the team is working hard to clean up the mistakes, some self-inflicted, some not.
He knows cleaning up the hiccups is a good way to ensure the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing team makes the post-season Playoffs.
“We’ve got fast race cars. We have had some mistakes that have cost us, some on my end, some on the car’s end. We’re in there together, trying to clean everything up, trying to make sure we put our best parts forward. We’re looking forward to the rest of the year.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
