Richard Lynn Stenhouse Jr. Bio
Richard Lynn Stenhouse Jr., born October 2, 1987, in Memphis, Tennessee, is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series driving the No. 47 Chevrolet ZL1 for Hyak Motorsports. He is the 2023 Daytona 500 winner and a two-time consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series champion, having claimed back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012. Stenhouse also earned NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2013, marking his arrival on the national stock car stage.
Stenhouse’s career arc spans dirt tracks, regional sprint cars, ARCA, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the NASCAR Cup Series, reflecting a driver who built his craft from the grassroots up. His aggressive superspeedway style and trademark drafting ability have produced some of the most memorable finishes of his era, including a dramatic overtime victory in the 2023 Daytona 500. Now entering a new chapter with Hyak Motorsports, Stenhouse remains one of NASCAR’s most recognizable and competitive full-time competitors.
Early Life and Background
Richard Lynn Stenhouse Jr. was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in nearby Olive Branch, Mississippi. He is the son of Ricky Stenhouse Sr. and Lisa Stenhouse, and was the first Mississippian driver to attempt a full-time NASCAR national series schedule since Lake Speed in 1997. His family provided the foundation for a racing career that would span more than a decade at the sport’s highest levels.
Stenhouse’s introduction to motorsports came through kart racing at the age of six. By the time he transitioned into sprint car competition in 2003, he had already racked up 47 wins and ninety podium finishes in kart competition. That early success signaled the arrival of a driver with the temperament and skill to eventually compete at the national stock car level.
Path to NASCAR
Stenhouse began his sprint car career in 360 cubic inch winged sprint cars and immediately made an impact, winning the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Driver Poll and Dirt Winged Sprint Car Rookie of the Year in 2003. He joined the USAC sprint car series in 2004 and continued ascending through the dirt racing ranks, winning dual Rookie of the Year honors in both USAC sprint car and midget competition in 2007. He also claimed victory in the Knoxville Midget Nationals and the 4-Crown Nationals Midget in 2007, demonstrating that his talent was not limited to a single discipline.
In 2008, Stenhouse made his stock car debut in the ARCA Racing Series with Roush Fenway Racing. In only his sixth stock car start, he won the Drive Smart! Buckle Up Kentucky 150 at Kentucky Speedway, a sign of his rapid adaptability on asphalt. He posted two wins in 21 ARCA starts and finished fourth in the season rookie standings, earning a full-time opportunity in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for 2009.
Richard Lynn Stenhouse Jr. Career
Early Career (2008–2010)
Stenhouse began the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series season running a partial schedule around his Sprint Cup commitments with Roush Fenway Racing. He recorded his first top-ten finish at Kentucky Speedway with a ninth-place effort, then followed it with a fifth-place showing at Milwaukee after leading 46 laps. The 2010 season started roughly, with four DNFs in the first ten races, and he was briefly replaced by Brian Ickler for three events. After veteran crew chief Mike Kelley joined the team, Stenhouse responded immediately with a third-place finish at Daytona and went on to post seven top tens, ultimately clinching the Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year award over Brian Scott following a fourth-place run at Homestead-Miami.
NASCAR Nationwide Series Breakthrough (2011–2012)
Stenhouse broke through for his first career Nationwide Series victory on May 22, 2011, holding off Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski over the final eighteen laps to win the John Deere Dealers 250 at Iowa Speedway in his 51st series start. He added a second win at Iowa later that season under unusual circumstances, crossing the finish line after his engine expired and Edwards inadvertently rear-ended him, and posted sixteen top-five finishes. At the end of the 2011 season, Stenhouse claimed the Nationwide Series championship by 45 points over Elliott Sadler.
Stenhouse successfully defended his title in 2012, becoming the first driver to win consecutive Nationwide Series championships since Sam Ard in 1983 and 1984. He opened the year with a win at Las Vegas in the Sam’s Town 300, holding off Mark Martin, and went on to score victories at Texas Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, and Kansas Speedway. After a run of bad luck at Charlotte, he rebounded to hold off Sadler once again, cementing his place in NASCAR history. During the 2012 season he also made his first Daytona 500 start in the Sprint Cup Series, finishing 20th in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing entry.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Breakthrough (2013–2019)
On June 26, 2012, Roush Fenway Racing announced that Stenhouse would drive the No. 17 Ford Fusion full-time in the Sprint Cup Series starting in 2013, replacing Matt Kenseth. Paired with rookie crew chief Scott Graves, Stenhouse adapted to the premier series quickly. He finished twelfth in his second Daytona 500 despite crash damage on lap 134, led his first Sprint Cup lap at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and recorded a career-best third-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway behind Jamie McMurray and Dale Earnhardt Jr. He also won a pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway with a lap of 29.227 seconds and earned top-ten finishes at Richmond and Chicagoland. At season’s end, Stenhouse was named the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year.
The 2014 campaign proved challenging, with Stenhouse’s best finish a close second at Bristol Motor Speedway in the spring race won by Carl Edwards. He failed to qualify at Talladega in October and finished 27th in points. Stenhouse improved steadily from there, recording consistent late-season results in 2015 and a then-career-best second-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in the 2016 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. He also earned the pole for the 2017 GEICO 500 at Talladega, his first pole since 2013 and Roush Fenway Racing’s first of the 2017 season.
Stenhouse scored his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory at Talladega in May 2017, passing Kyle Busch on the final lap of the GEICO 500 after an eighteen-car pileup cleared the way. The win snapped a 101-race winless drought for Roush Fenway Racing. He added a second victory in July 2017 at Daytona International Speedway, passing David Ragan with two laps remaining to lock up a playoff spot. In the playoffs, he survived the elimination round at Dover by finishing two points ahead of Ryan Newman, clinching the final spot in the Round of 12 before being eliminated in the second round. Stenhouse remained with Roush through 2019, though the team announced on September 25, 2019, that he would be replaced by Chris Buescher in 2020.
JTG Daugherty Racing / Hyak Motorsports Era (2020–Present)
On October 16, 2019, JTG Daugherty Racing announced that Stenhouse would drive the No. 47 Chevrolet for the team in 2020. He started the season with a pole position for the Daytona 500 in February 2020 and came agonizingly close to his first win for the team at Talladega, finishing just 0.007 seconds behind Ryan Blaney in the GEICO 500. He scored three top-five and four top-ten finishes in the 2020 season, with all top-fives coming in the first half of the regular season.
Stenhouse’s tenure with the organization reached its pinnacle in 2023 when he won the Daytona 500, his third career Cup Series victory and his most prestigious. The win earned him his first playoff berth since 2017 and represented the defining achievement of his Cup career. He advanced to the Round of 16 before being eliminated from playoff contention. In 2024, Stenhouse delivered another signature win at Talladega, edging Brad Keselowski by 0.006 seconds in a photo finish. That season was also marked by a post-race altercation with Kyle Busch at the NASCAR All-Star Race that resulted in a $75,000 fine for Stenhouse and suspensions involving his father, Ricky Stenhouse Sr., and two crew members; Stenhouse Sr.’s suspension was later lifted on September 24, 2024. Despite the Talladega victory, he missed the playoffs and finished outside the top-twenty in points. The 2025 season began promisingly with an 18th-place finish at the Daytona 500 and ten top-twenty finishes in the first fifteen races, but a difficult second half saw him miss the playoffs and finish 30th in the final standings.
Driving Style and Strengths
Stenhouse is widely recognized as one of NASCAR’s most proficient superspeedway drivers, a skill rooted in his formative years on dirt tracks. His aggressive yet calculated drafting technique and ability to navigate pack racing have produced three of his four career Cup Series wins at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. His partnership with crew chief Mike Kelley, which began during his Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year campaign in 2010 and has continued through various stops, remains a cornerstone of his competitive setup. Stenhouse’s ability to rebound from mid-race adversity has also been a defining trait, most notably at Dover in 2017 when he recovered from running 23rd and a lap down to finish fourth and clinch a playoff spot.
Notable Races and Milestones
Stenhouse’s most celebrated race is the 2023 Daytona 500, in which he captured his first career crown jewel victory. His 2017 GEICO 500 win at Talladega ended Roush Fenway Racing’s 101-race winless drought and marked his first career Cup Series victory. The 2024 GEICO 500 at Talladega provided another dramatic finish, decided by just 0.006 seconds over Brad Keselowski. Beyond superspeedways, his 2017 Talladega pole and 2013 Atlanta pole demonstrated his qualifying capability on high-speed intermediate tracks, while his 2012 Nationwide Series championship sweep placed him among an elite group of drivers to win back-to-back Xfinity Series titles.
Richard Lynn Stenhouse Jr. Career Wins
Richard Lynn Stenhouse Jr. has won races across multiple racing disciplines, from dirt midget and sprint car competition to the top tiers of NASCAR stock car racing. His victory list includes four career wins in the NASCAR Cup Series, numerous victories in the NASCAR Nationwide/Xfinity Series during his championship seasons, and several dirt track wins prior to his stock car career. His crowning achievement remains the 2023 Daytona 500, the most prestigious event in American motorsports.
NASCAR Cup Series Highlights
Stenhouse has recorded four career wins in the NASCAR Cup Series. His first came at Talladega Superspeedway in the 2017 GEICO 500, where he passed Kyle Busch on the final lap, simultaneously ending a 101-race winless drought for Roush Fenway Racing. He added his second victory in July 2017 at Daytona International Speedway, passing David Ragan with two laps to go. He then captured the 2023 Daytona 500 in his third career crown jewel victory, earning his first playoff berth since 2017. His most recent win came at Talladega in 2024, where he defeated Brad Keselowski by 0.006 seconds in a breathtaking finish. He also won a pole for the 2020 Daytona 500.
Other Wins and Performances
Before his stock car career, Stenhouse won the Knoxville Midget Nationals and the 4-Crown Nationals Midget in 2007. In the NASCAR Nationwide Series, he won six races across his championship seasons of 2011 and 2012, including victories at Iowa Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, and Kansas Speedway. He also captured the ARCA RE/MAX Series event at Kentucky Speedway in 2008 in only his sixth stock car start.
Richard Lynn Stenhouse Jr. Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Richard Lynn Stenhouse Jr. was born to Ricky Stenhouse Sr. and Lisa Stenhouse in Memphis, Tennessee. His father, Ricky Stenhouse Sr., has been a visible presence throughout his NASCAR career and was involved in an incident at the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race that led to an indefinite suspension, later lifted on September 24, 2024. Stenhouse is the first Mississippian driver to attempt a full-time NASCAR national series schedule since Lake Speed in 1997.
Personal Life
Stenhouse is married to Madyson Goodfleisch, originally of Ashville, Ohio. He announced their engagement in November 2021, and the couple married on October 26, 2022, in Charleston, South Carolina. Together they have one child, a son named Stetson Steele Stenhouse. Stenhouse is an avid fan of the Ole Miss Rebels football team and led the Rebels onto the field before the 2014 Egg Bowl against Mississippi State. He is a devout Baptist and a fan of classic country music. Prior to his relationship with Goodfleisch, he dated professional racer Danica Patrick from November 2012 to December 2017.
2025 Season Performance
Richard Lynn Stenhouse Jr. entered the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season driving the No. 47 Chevrolet ZL1 for Hyak Motorsports with crew chief Mike Kelley, coming off a 2024 campaign that included a Talladega win but a missed playoff berth. He began the season with an 18th-place finish in the Daytona 500 and showed encouraging early form, posting ten top-twenty finishes in the first fifteen races and climbing as high as 13th in the points standings. However, a difficult second half of the regular season eroded his momentum, and he ultimately missed the playoffs, finishing 30th in the final standings with only three top-ten finishes across the full season.
