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Daytona 500 pole winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has ‘something to prove’

AP photo by Terry Renna / NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. walks along pit road at Daytona International Speedway before Sunday's Cup Series qualifying session in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Daytona 500 is Feb. 16.
AP photo by Terry Renna / NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. walks along pit road at Daytona International Speedway before Sunday's Cup Series qualifying session in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Daytona 500 is Feb. 16. AP photo by Terry Renna / NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. walks along pit road at Daytona International Speedway before Sunday's Cup Series qualifying session in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Daytona 500 is Feb. 16.

By MARK LONG / The Associated Press 5 min read

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. needed just two days to get his new team to the top.

Stenhouse won the pole position for next Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500, putting JTG-Daugherty Racing in the NASCAR spotlight for at least a week. The 32-year-old former Roush Fenway Racing driver, who spent the first decade of his career in a Ford, secured just his third pole in 257 Cup Series starts and first at Daytona International Speedway on his second day in the new Chevrolet Camaro.

His first day behind the wheel of the No. 47 car was during practice Saturday.

“It’s the best driving Camaro I’ve ever driven,” Stenhouse quipped.

Stenhouse turned a fast lap at 194.582 mph, edging Alex Bowman for the top spot. Bowman reached 194.363 mph around the 2 1/2-mile superspeedway to lock down a front-row spot for the third consecutive Daytona 500. He finished 17th and 11th in the past two.