Our series of weekly NASCAR driver interviews continues with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who is currently in his fourth season racing in the Sprint Cup Series for Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse is currently 20th in the point standings.
Q: What is an errand or chore in your daily life people might be surprised to learn you do yourself?
A: Well, I clean dishes. I don’t like to cook, and obviously Danica (Patrick, his girlfriend) does all the cooking. So I do clean quite a lot of dishes. I’m working to get her to finish them, although she would say she cleans them more now than she used to.
I also take my garbage down the driveway. But it’s a little bit different than you'd think. I put the trash in my truck, drive it all the way down my driveway to the garbage can, put it in the garbage can and then run the garbage can down to the end of the street.
So probably those two things the most. And I do my own laundry. Plus, I cut grass and spray weeds and things at the house every week. It keeps me pretty busy.
Q: If you could do any race over again, which race would you choose?
A: I’d probably like to redo my Homestead race in 2012 (when he won his second consecutive Xfinity Series championship).
Why’s that?
Just so I would have enjoyed my championship more.
I remember that. In the press conference afterward, you were really down and being hard on yourself because you didn’t win the race.
I wasn’t real happy. Like, I was mad. I was happy we won the championship, but I really wanted to win that race, really bad. My first year we went to Homestead, we finished fourth. And I loved the racetrack. The second year, when we won the championship, we finished second in the race. So I was like, "Man, this is our chance to win the race and win the championship." I felt like that was the only thing left to do, to win the race.
But we didn’t do it. We were just off. We weren’t nearly as good as we were the year before, and I was frustrated the whole race.
Q: The longest race of the year is 600 miles. How long of a race could you physically handle without a driver change?
A: I’ve never done anything longer than 600 miles, but I feel like I could double that up, easy. I feel like I could do 1,200 miles, no problem. Even though I grew up racing short races and sprint car races, I really enjoy the long races. And if your car is good, you really enjoy it.
Q: Let’s say president of NASCAR was an elected position voted on by the drivers — and you decided to run. What would one of your campaign promises be?
A: Mine would probably be to be present at all of the races and be really integrated in everything that’s going on.
Q: At the start of this year, exactly 2,900 drivers had ever raced in the Sprint Cup Series. Where do you rank among those 2,900?
A: Right now, I would say not very high because I haven’t really done a whole lot in the Cup Series. The way I feel about my driving and the way I go about things, I feel I would be in the top 200. Honestly, I feel nobody can drive a race car better than I can. Driving-wise, I feel like I can out-drive anybody. But as far as accomplishing stuff in the sport at the Cup level, I haven’t done enough to say I would be first or 30th.
Q: What do you think your reputation is — and is that reputation accurate?
A: Everybody in the garage feels like I drive pretty hard. I’m a typical dirt racer that wants to go try different lines. When the line goes to the top of the racetrack, I feel like I’m a little bit better.
Kevin Harvick came up to me one time and said, “You were fast this weekend, so I knew I could drive into the corner a lot harder than I was” -- because he knows I drive into the corner a lot further than him. I drive the car hard. I’ve got to have it pretty loose for the way I drive it, and that’s why we’ve struggled over the last few years. Our cars haven’t been able to turn very good.
So I would say everybody thinks I drive the car pretty hard, and I would say that’s accurate.
Q: A famous chef wants you to invest in the new restaurant he’s opening, but he wants you to pick the cuisine. What type of food would your restaurant serve?
A: It would be a sweet and spicy Southern gourmet-type cuisine. There are things I like about fancy Southern food and there are things I really love from just down-home Southern cooking. So mixing those two together would probably be right up my alley.
Q: What is the most daring thing you’ve done outside of racing?
A: Well, I was going to go BASE jumping with (Travis) Pastrana one time, but (Jack) Roush didn’t want that to happen. (Laughs)
I backflipped a dirt bike one time into a foam pit at Brian Deegan’s house. They wouldn’t let me do it on the dirt.
Did you make it around?
Yeah, I completed it and they were like, “You totally would have landed it!” And I’m like, “Well, let’s go do it!” And they’re like, “Uh-uh.” But dude, it was a blast.
Q: In a move to generate more excitement, NASCAR decides in an upcoming race they’re going to require every driver to have a passenger in the car. You get to pick the passenger. Who do you choose?
A: Probably my dad. He’s always raced and he took me around in cars when I was younger. I remember we’d slide around on the street sideways when I was in the passenger seat. He rode me on street bikes with the front wheels in the air and me on the back of it. One time, late at night after a race, he gave me my first ride in a sprint car while he was holding me.
So I’d pick him. I’ve given him a pace car ride before and he’s like, “You’re just dumb.” (Laughs) We were in a Mustang at Homestead and I was running like 150 (mph) getting into the corner. And he’s like, “What happens if a wheel breaks?” And I’m like, “Well, I haven’t really thought about that.” So I think it would be fun to give him a ride since he always gave me rides and got me into racing. And he’d love it.
Q: Who will win the Sprint Cup in 2021?
A: I think I could. We’re on a progression and getting better. I think we’re capable of making the Chase this year, but I don’t think we’re capable of going out and winning the championship. But if we continue the progress, by then we’ll be competing to win the championship.
Q: I’ve been asking each driver to give me a question for the next interview. The last interview was with Ryan Newman, and his question is: What is your favorite all-time dirt track and favorite all-time asphalt track?
A: That’s tough. There are so many good ones. I raced this place in sprint cars that was really fun, it was Crossville (Raceway) in Tennessee. My favorite asphalt track? I’ve really enjoyed Bristol, and the Crossville track is really similar to Bristol. It’s like a dirt version of Bristol. That’s one thing I was always jealous of, is when they put dirt on Bristol. I wish I could have raced on that.
And do you have a question for the next interview?
I know there are two drivers in the garage who eat livermush -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. and I eat it (Stenhouse was snacking on livermush during the interview). We’ve even talked about going to the Livermush Festival one time in North Carolina.
My dad grew up in North Carolina and ate it then, so I grew up eating it. My grandma used to ship it to us in Mississippi. And I’ve gotten Danica to like it now. So my question for the next driver is: Have they ever eaten livermush? And if not, would they want to try it?
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PHOTOS: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick
