Ricky Stenhouse Jr., currently in his third year with the team, will remain the driver for JTG Daugherty Racing beyond the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. On Friday, the team announced Stenhouse has reached a multi-year contract extension to stay in the #47 Chevrolet.
The 2013 Cup Rookie of the Year joined JTG in 2020 after winning two races in eight seasons with what is now RFK Racing. In his maiden start, Stenhouse won the pole for the 2020 Daytona 500. After placing twenty-fourth and twenty-second in points across his first two campaigns as a JTG driver with four and two top-ten finishes each, he has already recorded more top tens in 2022 with five. Sixteen races into 2022, he is twenty-fourth in the standings with five top tens and a runner-up finish at Dover.
“I’m ready to continue our progress together as a team,” commented Stenhouse. “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.”
JTG, which has raced in the Cup Series since 2007, contracted to one car for 2022 after a lack of funding forced the #37 to shutter. Meanwhile, the #47 has served as the team’s flagship since its début, and Stenhouse is the seventh different driver to pilot it after Ken Schrader and Jon Wood (2007), Marcos Ambrose (2008 to 2010), Bobby Labonte (2011 to 2013), A.J. Allmendinger (2013 to 2018), and Ryan Preece (2019). Preece was Stenhouse’s partner in the #37 until its closure.
“We’re pleased to announce Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is returning to the company,” commented JTG Tad Geschickter. Wife Jodi Geschickter, Gordon Smith, and Brad Daugherty co-own the operation. “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.”
