Who is NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.?
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. qualified Sunday for the pole position of the 2020 Daytona 500, the first NASCAR Cup Series race of the season.
Who is Stenhouse? Here’s what you need to know:
He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, but raised in Olive Branch, Mississippi.
He sports a mullet hair cut, business up front and party in the back.
His aggressive driving style has earned him the nickname: “Wrecky Spinhouse Jr.”
He was born October 2, 1987, making him 32 years old today.
He’s a big Ole Miss fan and led the football team onto the field for the 2014 Egg Bowl against Mississippi State University.
Stenhouse was known to be in a relationship with fellow driver Danica Patrick for approximately 5 years before it ended in late 2017.
Stenhouse currently drives the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 car owned by JTG Daugherty Racing.
He won the 2010 Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year award and back-to-back Nationwide championships in 2011 and 2012. The next year he won the 2013 Sprint Cup rookie of the year honor.
He was an early racer, starting at age 6 racing go-karts.
He was a force to be reckoned within 2003 when he began racing sprint cars, wining numerous awards including rookie of the year in 2003. He began competing in the Nationwide Series in 2009, eventually winning his first race in that series in 2011.
His first NASCAR Cup Series win was in 2017 at Talladega.
In August 2019 he signed an extension of his contract with Roush Fenway Racing, but approximately two months later Roush Fenway announced Stenhouse was out as its driver.
The next month Stenhouse joined JTG Daugherty Racing as its driver for the 2020 season.
He earned the pole position at Sunday’s Daytona 500 race in Daytona, Florida.