Ricky Stenhouse Jr wins Daytona 500, holds off NASCAR champ Joey Logano
Joey Logano, the reigning NASCAR champion, finished right behind Stenhouse
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Daytona 500 on Sunday to start the 2023 NASCAR season.
Stenhouse held off Joey Logano on the final lap of overtime as a wreck involving Kyle Larson and several other drivers caused the caution flag to come out. Once the caution came out, Stenhouse was determined to be the leader and Logano finished in second.
Stenhouse is the 42nd different driver to win "The Great American Race."
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Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #47 Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2023, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #47 Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet, celebrates with his crew after winning the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2023, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)
"They left me a note on the car that said they believe in me and to go get the job done tonight," he told FOX Sports’ Jamie Little of his crew. "I made a few mistakes. We were able to battle back. This Kroger Cottonelle team worked really, really hard this offseason."
Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher and Alex Bowman rounded out the top five. A.J. Allmendinger, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain and Riley Herbst rounded out the top 10.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brad Keselowski scored the Stage 1 win as he fended off a charging Ryan Preece, and Chastain narrowly topped pole-sitter Bowman for the win in Stage 2.
Late cautions impacted the field with under 20 laps to go.
Brad Keselowski (6) beats Ryan Preece (41) to the start/finish line to win the first stage during the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. (AP Photo / Chris O'Meara)
Kyle Larson (5) and Erik Jones (43) slide across the grass after being involved in a crash during the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. (AP Photo / Chris O'Meara)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #47 Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2023, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
AUSTIN HILL WINS XFINITY SERIES' DAYTONA OPENER AS SPARKS FLY IN MASSIVE LAST-LAP WRECK
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Preece, Michael McDowell, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs and Jimmie Johnson got caught up in a wreck in Lap 182. Harrison Burton restarted in the lead but quickly lost it when Logano got a big push. Allmendinger and Kyle Larson got back in front.
Kyle Busch may have pulled out the victory if it wasn’t for Suarez blowing a tire. Busch even noted that if it was 1998 – when Dale Earnhardt won the race under caution – he would’ve been declared the winner.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch is shown during driver introductions before the start of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Feb. 19, 2023. (Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports)
Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 3CHI Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2023, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 Bass Pro Shops Club Chevrolet, enters his car in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2023, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)
Busch, Austin Dillon and William Byron would tail off while the Chevys made the push in overtime. A crash involving Dillon and Byron took out a handful of racers, and on the final lap, Larson was caught up in a wreck of his own that ended the race.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Harvick, who announced that he would retire at the end of the season, was in the front pack for most of the race until he was caught up in a late crash. He finished in 11th.
Travis Pastrana had an impressive showing finishing 14th.
Stenhouse is the lone driver for JTG Daugherty Racing, which is part-owned by former NBA star Brad Daugherty. He failed to reach the top 10 in any Daytona 500 finish before Sunday’s win since 2014.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Late-race crash catches more than a dozen drivers during the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2023, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
His last win came in 2017. He finished in 13th in the NASCAR standings that year.
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For now, Stenhouse has a spot in the NASCAR Playoffs. A second win this season will definitely help that.