Ricky Stenhouse Jr. claimed the Daytona 500 crown Friday night after rain delays stretched NASCAR’s opener into a primetime thriller, boosting ratings and fan chatter.
Friday night at Daytona International Speedway was pure NASCAR madness, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. emerged the king of it all. The 67th Daytona 500, delayed five days from Sunday by relentless rain, finally roared to life at 8 p.m. PST, and Stenhouse made it worth the wait. Starting 18th, he dodged a 12-car wreck with 20 laps left and outran Joey Logano in a photo finish—0.12 seconds—to snag his second career 500 win, per the Associated Press. The checkered flag dropped after midnight Saturday, handing the 37-year-old a $1.5 million purse and a soaked-but-ecstatic crowd of 180,000 something to cheer about.
The road there was a slog. Storms flooded campsites and pushed the race from Sunday to a rare Friday night slot—the first primetime finish since 2014. FOX ratings jumped 8% over last year’s soggy start, a sign the late drama clicked with viewers. X lit up with reactions—fans lauded Stenhouse’s grit, while others debated if NASCAR should ditch February for good after three straight rain-plagued openers. Drivers like Kyle Busch, caught in the late crash, stayed diplomatic, but Speedway chief Frank Kelleher shrugged off calls for change, insisting the show delivered.
Stenhouse’s upset—he was a 25-1 longshot—reignites his influence in a sport hunting fresh stars. The win’s timing, under lights and on a weeknight, has analysts buzzing about NASCAR’s pull beyond its Sunday faithful. It’s a trending jolt to kick off 2025.
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