Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. set to make NASCAR Truck debut

Niece Motorsports has announced Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as the driver of the No. 45 Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season-opener at Daytona International Speedway.

Stenhouse is a veteran of the NASCAR Cup Series with over 400 starts and four wins -- all at superspeedways. He won the summer Daytona race in 2017, but his crowning achievement came in 2023 as the winner of the Daytona 500. 

The 38-year-old also had plenty of success in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, winning back-to-back titles there in 2011 and 2012. Despite nearly 600 starts between the top two divisions, the Olive Branch, Mississippi, native has never actually made a start in the Truck Series. 

"I've always wanted to run a truck, but never had the opportunity to put something together," said Stenhouse Jr. "When Cody (Efaw) called me, I definitely had a lot of interest to see what all they have been building here at Niece Motorsports, especially looking at their level of competition. With it being at Daytona, obviously winning the 500 was awesome, and I'd love to win a Truck Series race there, too. I've always wanted to race a truck, but I wanted it to be competitive - and this checks all of those boxes."

J.F. Electric will back Stenhouse's effort. Niece also plans to run Stenhouse in the second race of the year at another drafting track -- EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta). 

"We are all very excited to welcome Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to our team for his first time racing in the Truck Series," said Cody Efaw, Niece Motorsports CEO. "I've known Ricky for several years now dating back to our time at Roush (now RFK Racing), and he's always been a natural on super speedways. I believe he will have a true shot at contending for the win at both Daytona and Atlanta."