Ricky Stenhouse Jr. describes life as a Daytona 500 champion

The prestige of winning the Daytona 500 never really goes away. Stenhouse gets to associate his name with some of the best to ever drive a car in NASCAR. He says it’s a surreal feeling.

“I look at the people who won the Daytona 500, and you’re always a Daytona 500 champion every time they introduce you at Cup Series races,” he said. “For me, it’s unreal to be in that club. We worked really hard for that.”

Stenhouse’s victory was particularly impressive, starting the race in 31st. But sometimes, magic can happen at the “Great American Race.”

Where did Ricky Stenhouse Jr. put the Daytona 500 trophy?

When you accomplish something like winning the Daytona 500, there’s going to be a special spot for the trophy. Stenhouse was asked where he’s keeping that prestigious award.

“It’s between the living room and the kitchen,” he said. “We did some updating to our house recently and we took a lot of the trophies that I had sitting out and put those in a back room. But we definitely kept the Daytona 500 trophy front and center. We’re pretty proud of that.”

Not a bad spot to display the top prize.

In addition to winning this year’s Daytona 500, Stenhouse has also finished inside the top-10 on seven occasions. He owns a pair of top-five finishes, as well.

Stenhouse is a former Xfinity Series champion, winning on that circuit in 2011 and 2012.