Nailing his first career Cup Series win on Sunday, this surprising champ reveals the struggle to beat one of the other top-performing drivers who was favored to win.
Taking the world of NASCAR by surprise, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. stole a win right out of fellow driver, Kyle Busch‘s hands – and there were some choice words that came of that situation, but in an all new interview Stenhouse Jr. takes fans on a play-by-play of exactly how he crushed Busch’s dreams of a win.
During this past Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Stenhouse and Busch were running neck-and-neck for the last few laps, with Stenhouse’s spotter being an absolute superstar and helping him clinch the win – in a last-lap move that dropped more than just a few jaws.
“I didn’t wanna get a penalty and take off too soon,” Stenhouse begins telling NASCAR Hub. “So Kyle got a really good jump and our car had really good momentum through 1 and 2 on every restart – and then you see Jimmy gave me a push there.”
“Kyle and I are out by ourself…my spotter, Mike Herman Jr., did a great job all race letting me know which line had the most momentum coming off the corner.”
After that he and Busch were neck-and-neck side drafting one another and that’s exactly when he decided to go for the pass – a decision that would prove to be a winning choice.
He continued to move across the track according to his spotter’s suggestions and successfully blocked quite a few opportunities for other drivers. During this, Busch and another driver bumped each other and Stenhouse says that really slowed them down – leaving him wide open for the win.
“Crossing the finish line, I was just looking left to make sure nobody creeped up on me at the end,” He continued excitedly. “That start-finish line is just so far down that racetrack – it’s just so different.”
What do you think about Stenhouse’s win this last weekend? Did you hear Kyle Busch’s comments about the race afterward?
Watch his full play-by-play with NASCAR Hub in the video below and let us know what you think in the comments.