June 24, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. re-ups with JTG Daugherty Racing

LEBANON, Tenn.—Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will continue to build on his current success at JTG Daugherty Racing.

The team announced on Friday that Stenhouse signed a multi-year deal to remain in the No. 47 Chevrolet.

Stenhouse is currently in his third season with JTGD which will celebrate its 29th season in NASCAR next year.

“We’re pleased to announce Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is returning to the company,” said Tad Geschickter, co-owner of JTG Daugherty Racing with Jodi Geschickter, Gordon Smith and Brad Daugherty. “Ricky has done a solid job on the racetrack and off the track during Kroger Racing in-store activations for our esteemed partners. We’re continuing to learn the new car and we’re making progress. We’ve led laps, earned stage points and been close to winning this year.”

For the last six seasons, Stenhouse has raced with crew chief Brian Pattie calling the shots. While Stenhouse earned four top-fives and six top 10s as well as the 2020 Daytona 500 pole with JTGD, 2022 has been a game-changer for the driver with the introduction of the new car. His five top-10 finishes in the first 16 races are the most he’s scored since 2018.

“I’m ready to continue our progress together as a team,” said Ricky Stenhouse Jr. “We’ve made some strides with this new car at some tracks and we know there’s some work to do on others. I look forward to that process with the good group of people we have in place at JTG Daugherty Racing.

“I’m grateful to our partners for giving us an opportunity to continue to make our program better. I’m really happy with the first three years here at JTG Daugherty Racing.”

The 34-year-old Cup veteran has amassed two wins, 20 top fives, 45 top 10s and three poles during his 10-season career on the tour. Although his first two wins came at superspeedways, the two-time Xfinity Series Champion was the runner-up at the Monster Mile and has earned top 10s on the two-mile Auto Club Speedway as well as intermediate tracks such as Darlington Raceway, Kansas Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Olive Branch, Mississippi native hopes to keep the solid runs rolling at Nashville Superspeedway.

“We’re hoping for another good concrete track run at Nashville like we had at Dover where we finished second with our No. 47 Kroger/The Frozen Farmer Camaro,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “This style of racetrack has been better for us than some of the other ones and I love Nashville. It was a really good track for us last year, but of course, it’s a totally different car. The biggest thing for us is to have a good practice session on Friday.

“It’s going to be hot at Nashville. I love the heat that affects the physical side in the car and then the lack of grip the car has on the track. We were able to come away with a strong run there last year. We feel confident we can do the same with this new car on Sunday.”