“He Executed Really Well” – Denny Hamlin Argues Why Ricky Stenhouse Jr’s Daytona 500 Win Wasn’t Actually a Fluke

On Sunday, Ricky Stenhouse Jr stunned NASCAR fans by winning the inaugural race of the season and ending his five-year losing streak. The #47 Chevy driver secured his third Cup Series victory at the Daytona 500, believed to be a revival milestone in his 14-season-long career. The final lap turned out to be one of the most interesting ones of the race after the Daytona 500 went into the second overtime.

Many cars came together in the final few moments of the race, resulting in a victory for Ricky Stenhouse Jr ahead of Joey Logano under caution. Given the uneventful end to the race, fans had the feeling that the JTG Daugherty Racing driver did not deserve to win. However, Denny Hamlin recently argued that Stenhouse Jr’s victory at the Daytona International Speedway was not a fluke at all.

Hamlin recently discussed the comings and goings of the Daytona 500 on his podcast “Actions Detrimental” alongside co-host Jared Allen. While commending Chevy’s strategy for the race, Hamlin also praised Stenhouse Jr’s efforts during Sunday’s race.

Denny Hamlin feels Stenhouse deserved to win

In the latest episode of “Actions Detrimental,” Jared Allen pointed out that the biggest group of Chevrolet cars was the last among the four groups to pit during the final fuel window. The co-host asked Hamlin how tricky the situation was at the moment in the race. 

Hamlin believed that it was a big move by Chevy in the context of the race. Moreover, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver reckoned that he and his team went back to the house to take a look at the last fuel run because they were curious about one thing. Hamlin said, “Okay! Where was Ricky in this whole thing? He was 20th, by the way, when the green flag stop started. He was 20th. So he was in not a good spot in my opinion. But, he executed really well.

The 42-year-old added, “I watched, he moved himself up the Chevy line by getting on and off pit road well, and the Chevy strategy of staying out a bit longer and with a bulk of cars was hugely beneficial as well.”

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Thus, Hamlin did not feel that Rick Stenhouse Jr had won the Daytona 500 by mere luck or chance as he commended the driver’s efforts to bring himself into a winning position.

Hamlin applauds Chevy’s strategy

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In the podcast, Denny Hamlin claimed that he missed out on the race due to the lack of coordination between him and teammate Martin Truex Jr, which cost him four seconds and a lot of positions during a critical stage of the competition. Moreover, he also credited the Chevy group of cars for getting their strategy spot on.

He said, “That was a key, key moment. So not only is it beneficial to have your tank as full as you can towards the end of the race. So, by staying out longer those Chevys that stayed out the longest, they also had to take less fuel because there’s less laps in the race that you need fuel for.”

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Thus, Stenhouse Jr’s impressive drive combined with Chevy’s mindful strategy brought the 35-year-old his first Daytona 500 win at the NASCAR Cup Series season’s kick-off.