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  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. knows that a win is the only thing that will get him into the playoffs.  On Saturday night’s regular season finale, at Daytona International Speedway, there is still one playoff spot yet to be determined.  For drivers who are too far back in the standings to make it in on points alone (like Stenhouse Jr.), winning is the only way to guarantee yourself a spot in the final 16.    Not only is the race taking place at one of NASCAR’s most chaotic tracks, but the cars will also drive differently than they ever have.  A safety-related change will result in lower horsepower than when the Cup Series last visited Daytona for the 500 back in February.  Stenhouse Jr. said “I think it’s a little safer, a little easier for us to race hard and maybe not make as many mistakes trying to block runs at the last minute.”    Despite these wildcards, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is confident in his #47 Chevrolet team’s chances.  “I kn...

In case you missed it , StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500.  Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020.    24 th Place – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 584 pts   By the Numbers:   8 DNFs in 2020 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. tied with two other regular drivers for most DNFs (Did Not Finish) this year with 8.  He tied with Ryan Preece and Brennan Poole.  If Ricky wants to have a better next year, he’s going to need to keep his car clean.   4.75 Average Places – 2020 was Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s first year at JTG-Daugherty Racing, essentially swapping teams with Chris Buescher.  In 2019, Buescher had an average finish of 17.83, and this year Stenhouse finished with a 22.58.  This means that in basically the same equipment, Ricky finished an average of 4.75 places worse than Buescher did a year earlier.     6.82% Less Miles Driven – Piggybacking off the DN...