Ricky Stenhouse Jr Wins the 65th Daytona 500
Ricky Stenhouse Jr victory celebration with his crew. (Getty Images 2023)
Snapping a winless streak
In one of the most surprising finishes, an upset winner wins the Daytona 500. That being Ricky Stenhouse Jr beating out Joey Logano at the moment of caution on the final lap. The last time Stenhouse went to victory lane in the Cup Series was the 2017 Coke-Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona. It’s been over five years since Stenhouse went to victory lane but this one is definitely the biggest. Especially racing for an underdog team JTG Daugherty racing. The last time JTG Daugherty Racing went to victory lane in the Cup Series was their lone win at Watkins Glen with Aj Allmendinger in 2014. This win will always be the biggest for both JTG Daugherty Racing and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Stenhouse in victory lane with his team (Getty Images 2023)
Felt like 1998 but no cigar
Although the Daytona 500 went overtime twice, the guy that was leading at the 200-lap benchmark was Kyle Busch. Busch was seeking his first Daytona 500 but it has to wait. The script cannot be written any better for both Busch and RCR. Before the caution came out, Busch was leading with the best teammate, Austin Dillon, behind his back. Coming with two laps to go, Daniel Suarez bought out the caution. With the first overtime restart, Busch and Dillion weren’t able to capitalize on the lead. Busch selected the outside lane for the restart and Dillion selected the inside lane. As Busch went down to the inside, there wasn’t much speed and momentum compared to the inside lane. It was all Busch to finish the story for the second overtime restart. Once the white flag flew on the final lap, everyone in the field was scratching to be first. The caution came out when Larson wrecked hard and also collected Busch as well. In a post-race interview, Busch said “When and where I’m going to crash and what lap I come out of the care center.” Almost had the 500 in his hands, which is the win that Kyle Busch needs to fulfill his legacy.
Commercial 500
Fans at home were presented with commercials instead of full action at Daytona. This Daytona 500, in particular, would go down as one of the best 500s in a long time but it was overshadowed by Fox Sports’ production and quality throughout the race. Every six laps of racing, Fox would cut to commercials. In a state where fans put the “Commerical 500” trending on Twitter as a result of this poor production.
This is what the fans at home were presented with during the 2023 Daytona 500
Bucket List Completed for Travis Pastrana
Pastrana qualified his way into this race. In his Cup Series debut he finished 11th in the 2023 Daytona 500. Despite getting in a wreck on the final lap of the 500 collecting Larson. He still managed to earn a top-15 finish out of the toughest races on the schedule. “It was an honor racing with these guys” Pastrana post the race interview. The question remains, when will we see Pastrana in a Cup Series car?
