Top Dog: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.”
Now, let’s alter one of the more recognizable lines from Finding Nemo to fit the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday (April 21).
“Just keep saving, just keep saving …”
Fuel conservation was the name of the game for much of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega, with drivers saving as much fuel as possible to take less fuel on pit stops, thus giving them more track position.
But on the final lap of the race, the real Talladega stood up with the Big One striking late and a block gone wrong. Sliding through the smoke was perhaps the most prominent superspeedway racer among underdogs, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
A fourth-place result gave Stenhouse a finish he badly needed in a season where not much has gone right.
With the first two stages going caution-free, Stenhouse was quiet for the most part. He cracked the top 10 during stage one before sliding to 27th by the end of the stage.
In stage two, Stenhouse put himself in the hunt, and when green flag pit stops cycled through, he was in the mix for stage points. The Olive Branch, Miss. native finished two spots short of a stage point in 12th.
As the laps wound down in the final stage, the No. 47 methodically climbed the leaderboard and was not near two accidents that set up the final push to the finish.
Where Stenhouse was coming to the white flag sums up Talladega in a nutshell.
The 36-year-old was in a drag race between 13th and 14th entering the tri-oval on the final lap. In a flash, Michael McDowell attempted a block, went around, and the seas parted around Stenhouse to allow him to capture a top five.
It was absolute heads-up driving from the veteran, who grabbed his first top 10 since Atlanta Motor Speedway and first top five since the 2023 Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race.
Entering the race, JTG Daugherty Racing’s lone driver had endured six consecutive finishes outside the top 20. The site of his first career Cup win may have been just what the doctor ordered to get his season back on track.
How Does It Compare?
Not surprisingly, Talladega is notorious for strong underdog runs, so Stenhouse’s finish had some stiff competition. However, when compared to the Talladega races since 2021, Stenhouse was right on par. His run matched a fourth-place run by Corey LaJoie in last fall’s race while topping a sixth-place result by Erik…
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