Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is growing beyond his comfort zones on the NASCAR Cup Series tour.
Stenhouse has done his best driving on superspeedways, those perilous stretches of unforgiving asphalt where the only thing you can count on is that something unpredictable is sure to happen.
Stenhouse solidified his superspeedway bona fides by taking the checkered flag in the 65th running of the Daytona 500 in the Cup Series season opener on Feb. 19. Stenhouse had two superspeedway wins in 2017, the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona and the Geico 500 at Talladega.
“Earlier in my carer the superspeedways really just leveled the playing field for me a little bit car-wise and team-wise,” Stenhouse told the Herald on Thursday. “I really tried to take advantage of those race tracks and really study and really learn them.
“I felt really comfortable on them and all in all, we’ve had success on those superspeedways. I do enjoy them and I kind of like the chess match of making sure you are making the right move at the right time.”
Stenhouse is in his 11th Cup Series season and fourth year with JTG Daugherty Racing. His goal is to be Cup Series champion, but to realize that ambition he must up his game on the tour’s intermediate and short ovals and road courses.
The NASCAR has 10 races to go before the playoffs and the next event is Sunday’s running of the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. At 1.33 miles per lap, Nashville falls into the intermediate category despite its name.
Stenhouse is the operator of the No. 47 Kroger/Slim Jim Chevrolet and is one of four Chevy drivers who have already secured a playoff berth. Stenhouse is currently 14th in the driver standings following a 12th place finish at Sonoma on July 11.
Stenhouse’s best finish at Nashville was 6th in 2021 and he placed 16th last year. Stenhouse, 35, grew up in Olive Branch, Miss., and considers Nashville his home course.
“I like Nashville and I grew up going there and early in my career we tested there a lot,” Stenhouse said. “I raced the Nationwide Series there. I’ve got a lot of laps around Nashville and (2021) was a really good run for us.”
Stenhouse has seen substantial gains in the team’s short track performances since being reunited with crew chief Mike Kelley this season. Kelley helped guide Stenhouse to consecutive Xfinity titles in 2011 and 2012 before becoming the Sunoco Cup Series Rookie of the Year in 2013 under the banner of Roush-Fenway Racing.
Stenhouse finished a disappointing 35th at Richmond, but he reversed course with a fourth-place finish on the dirt track at Bristol and was eighth at Martinsville. Richmond, Bristol, and Martinsville are the three shortest ovals on the tour.
Stenhouse hopes to have all his short track cars fully operational when he visits Loudon, N.H., on July 16 for the running of the Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“I think we are learning a lot and in the Martinsville race we didn’t have a ton of speed but we had a pit stop strategy that got us up front,” said Stenhouse. “We have definitely benefitted from things we have learned throughout the season.”
The Magic Mile has been more a mystery for Stenhouse over the years. Stenhouse has made 15 starts with an average finish of 21.1 and his best was ninth in July 2014. New Hampshire is a crew chief’s race and Stenhouse is counting on Kelley to guide him to a top five finish.
“You have to have speed and you have to qualify well at New Hampshire because it is a really tough race track to pass on,” said Stenhouse. “You have to have the right pit strategy and we are learning that as a race team now that we are racing closer to the front in these races and being more competitive.
“We have to be good qualifying and get good track position. If we do that, we have a shot at it. You have to have a fast race car, but the strategy really counts at New Hampshire. The crew chiefs are constantly gathering information to make the right call at the end.”
Stenhouse was a St. Louis Cardinals fan as a youth but switched to the Boston Red Sox during his tenure with Roush Fenway, the motor sports unit of John Henry’s global empire.
Stenhouse enjoyed one of the perks being under the RFR umbrella on July 17, 2019, when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch of a Red Sox game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. Stenhouse delivered a strike over the middle of the plate that registered 75 mph on the radar gun.
“That was super cool and it was so historic being at Fenway Park,” said Stenhouse. “When I was with Roush-Fenway I went to a lot of games and events at Fenway Park and throwing a strike was nice.”
Stenhouse reunited with the Cardinals as a reward for winning Daytona. He threw out the first pitch at Busch Stadium on May 31 before an interstate clash between the Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals.
“I hadn’t thrown the ball in two or three years and I bounced it right at the plate,” said Stenhouse. “I wasn’t too impressed with that.
“But Fenway was good and I’m looking for good things when I get up to New Hampshire.”