Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Has Always Been Underrated| May 23

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has earned the nickname Wrecky Spinhouse Jr. due to his constant incidents with other drivers, starting with his infamous 2018 season. With incidents with Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Ryan Preece, and any foreign driver that dares enter the series. This wasn’t always the case, though.

Stenhouse Was the Most Promising Prospect In NASCAR In 2013

He won back-to-back Nationwide Series titles with Roush Fenway Racing in 2011 and 2012. That lifted him to heights he hadn’t lived up to. That is because he’s never had a proper chance to because of factors outside his control as well that conspired against him, starting with the team that developed him.

Stenhouse’s Rise Into the Cup Series Came During Roush’s Fall

2013 was his rookie season in the Cup Series, and I’m not going to pretend it couldn’t have gone better. With only a top 5 and three top 10s, fellow Roush rookies Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle can attest that it doesn’t mean the end of a career. This season would also be the start of Roush’s down years. Losing legends Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth in back-to-back seasons to Joe Gibbs and with them major sponsors would follow. 3M, Crown Royal, UPS, DeWalt, and others jumped ship, either to other teams or out of the sport. This caused a black hole in Roush’s finances.

A Black Hole Started DEstroying Roush As Stenhouse Was Starting To Blossom

In 2014 Matt Kenseth was replaced by another promising driver Trevor Bayne. But more sponsors left, and to make things worse, Stewart-Haas Racing, who already won the 2011 championship, would go on to take the 2014 championship. In 2015 even proven vet Greg Biffle finished only 20th in the standings with Stenhouse finishing 25th, 5 spots above proven vets like Tony Stewart, Hornish, and David Ragan.

Roush’s New Lead Engineer and Operations Manager Were Struggling In Their New Positions

As a result, hiring the right crew chiefs became a challenge. With Stenhouse changing from the inexperienced Nick Sandler to the much more proven Brian Pattie, his performance improved. He earned his first two career wins at Daytona and Talladega, tying his four top fives and getting a new career high in top tens with nine. This also led to his first-ever playoff appearance, finishing 13th in the points.

Then His Infamous 2018 Season Came

He got into many infamous incidents that earned him his infamous rep with fans at the plate tracks and the All-Star Race. He also regressed with no wins and fewer top fives and tens, missing the playoffs. After more regression in 2019, Jack Roush, an infamous cheapskate according to many former drivers and staff, was another big reason his team went downhill in the Gen 6 era. He didn’t want to pay Stenhouse or Brian Pattie.

Stenhouse Went From #17 to #47, Moving Into JTG Daugherty Racing’s Garage

Now JTG is one of the teams I had the most respect for during its time in NASCAR. However, that was because they always did the most with their resources. Compared to the rest of the cup field, they didn’t have much. They lacked investment from a Hendrick or Joe Gibbs despite having multiple investors. If Stenhouse was looking to win championships, he could’ve picked better, but if he came for a challenge, he came to the right place.

Stenhouse Improved From His 2019 Form

Having three top fives and four top tens from a top five and three top tens in 2019. It was impressive to have as many top tens as Chris Buescher in 2019 but to have three more top fives. Over time they grew stronger, going from struggle in 2021 (1 top five and 2 top tens) to triumph in 2023 and 2024. Stenhouse continued his plate track reign, losing multiple photo finishes to Ryan Blaney and then winning at Daytona and Talladega.

After achieving his greatest racing accomplishment, beating Kyle Busch to win at the 2023 Daytona 500, he celebrated at Waffle House afterward. He had his career-best seasons with two top fives and nine top 10s in 2023 and three top fives and six top 10s in 2024 in a car that should have none. Even after leaving behind Brian Pattie in 2023 for Mike Kelley.

Roush Has Revived Itself With Keselowski’s Help

The 2012 Cup Series champion now co-owns the team and used his engineering knowledge and experience owning a team to turn the sleeping giants into giants once again. The star of this revival on track has been Chris Buescher, who took over for Stenhouse in the No. 17. He sets the perfect comparison as someone who’s not only been on both Roush and JTG but then Roush and RFK Roush.

Buescher Has Been a Top 10 Driver Consistently In Next-Gen Era

He won multiple races in that same 17 that Stenhouse only got two wins in. Their times at JTG tipped in Stenhouse’s favor, with Buescher only having a high of two top fives and four top tens ever, which pales in comparison to Stenhouse’s nine top tens and three top fives. Both were achieved in 2023.

JTG was a multicar team with Buescher and was a loanee while Stenhouse had the lone car. He was the franchise guy there and had more experience than Buescher at the time. Still interesting when thinking about how much better-rated Buescher is amongst the fanbase than Stenhouse.

Buescher’s Time At Midpack Roush Is More Comparable

With Buescher’s pre-next-gen at Roush going very well, having eight top tens both seasons and easily beating teammate Ryan Newman, a teammate Stenhouse had trouble beating when they were teammates. Though you could argue that was because the focus at Roush went to Newman, then Buescher. While Buescher’s 2020 and 2021 seasons are great, they still don’t beat Stenhouse’s 2017 despite Buescher having slightly more experience compared to Stenhouse at that point in his career.

I’m not saying Stenhouse is a better driver. There’s no way of knowing unless he ever gets a top ride like CB has. It would be naïve to say that they’re not on a similar level. I hope one day to see Stenhouse in a car that can compete for wins week after week, but if that doesn’t happen, I’ll always appreciate the greatness he showed.