“Got hit from about every direction”: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. voices disappointment over Daytona wreck that derailed his momentum

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was ousted early from Saturday’s Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway. Later, during an interview with Frontstretch, the Hyak Motorsports driver shared his side of the story.

It was the final race of the regular season, which means winning it could have locked Ricky Stenhouse Jr. into the playoffs. But that didn’t happen. Stenhouse Jr. had to settle for a DNF, his second this year.

Early on during the August 23 race at Daytona, a massive pile-up took place in which Stenhouse Jr., Noah Gragson, and Austin Cindric were all involved. However, Stenhouse Jr. had no clue who started it. So he said (2:30),

“I got hit from about every direction after it happened. I don't know...the #5 (Kyle Larson) got to the outside of the #22 Joey Logano), which then in Turn 1 almost put us four wide or put that row four wide. Not sure what happened with the #22, #23... just really aggressive racing there.”

Our plan was to put our No. 47 Jack Link's Duos Chevrolet towards the front and be at the front as much as possible. We got there, and I was in the position that I wanted to be in. I felt like we were going to get into turn one in probably fifth or sixth-place there and try to finish the stage out, but it didn't happen," he added.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was awarded a P35 finish. The driver currently sits 28th in the driver standings with 434 points, one top-five and three top-10s to his name. Next up for the driver is the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

It marks the very first event in the 10-race playoffs. Fans can watch it live on USA (6 pm ET) or listen to live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. reflects on his career’s first Daytona 500 win

Ahead of this year’s Daytona 500, which took place back in February, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was reminded of his first victory in the coveted, crown-jewel race. It happened in 2023, and the race was his 12th Daytona 500 attempt.

“It was unbelievable,” Stenhouse Jr. said of his triumph. “Now when I come into Daytona 500 media day, I’ve got that trophy with my name on it, so that never gets old. But I think for us and our small team, it was life-changing.”

“It felt like it gave our whole team just a little pep in their step. And now when you come down here to Daytona 500, way more confidence, way more relaxed, and ready to go win another one,” he added.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 47th in last year’s Daytona 500, and this year, the 37-year-old driver ended up 18th. 2025 marks his first time running the 500-miler with the newly branded Hyak Motorsports.