Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour presented by NASCAR on FOX - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Full Interview

Episode Date: October 10, 2024

On episode 64 of 'Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour,' Kevin Harvick is joined by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. following his thrilling win at Talladega. Kevin and Ricky discuss the photo-finish, his up-and-down season, the fallout from his fight with Kyle Busch, relationship with his father, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was an all-star race. You know, I felt like he wrecked me on purpose, you know, on lap one and a half. And then now I'm stuck in the infield and I can't leave. And so, you know, I think I got mad at a couple times and then I got over it. My wife talked to me off the ledge a few times. And then, you know, by the time the race was over, I was like, you know what? I'm going to go talk to him. Welcome to Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour, presented by NASCAR on Fox.

And not only did we have Ricky Stenhouse on our Victory Lap interview, we also got him to take a whole amount of time to be able to do the full interview for our Thursday segment. I thought it was a great conversation with Ricky about not only this year, but a lot of the things that he's done in his racing pass. So hope you enjoyed the listen. Well, Ricky, you had a phenomenal finish to the weekend. I know that Talladega weekend, Speedway, Super Speedway racing in general is always, a little bit more stressful than everything else.

But it seems like you deal with the stress better than most. Fourth win on a Super Speedway. Tell us about your weekend at Talladega. Yeah, you know, Talladega always presents a great opportunity. I think, you know, I think a lot of us feel that way. You know, but for me and my team, I feel like we put a lot of preparation into, you know, our race car, making it drive good, making sure that I can take pushes. I can push people.

And, you know, we don't qualify very well. well, but we race really well. And then, you know, we do a lot of pre-event work on, you know, how to time that last green flag pit stop, making sure that, you know, I get a good enough track position throughout the start of that third stage and save enough fuel at the same time so that, you know, our pit stop can be, you know, as short as possible. And I think that was the win and move for us, really was just making sure we executed that last pit stop. We were able to leave pit road with, you know, the nine behind us. And, you know, eventually that whole line ended up being the outside line and, you know, kept us on the front road battling for the, for the wind. So,

you know, there's a lot of work that goes into it. A lot of luck, you know, missed that wreck there at the end of stage two. But, you know, just kept working our way towards, towards the front and saving as much fuel as we could at the same time. And everything worked out according to plan. Well, you had control of the race before the big wreck there. And then you wound up keeping control the race all the way to the end. And I think when you look at that wreck, how close was the car to kind of being out of control? Because it ripped a hole in the door that was all the way almost to the metal in certain spots. So how close was that for you? Yeah, it was wild. You know, we had already cleared the 38 and, you know, I was just kind of mind in my own business, you know, making sure,

you know, the nine was, you know, directly behind me. And all of a sudden, you know, just got smoked in the door. You know, it happened so fast, and luckily it hit me, you know, kind of dead center of the car. And I felt like it just moved my car up, you know, a lane a little bit. I don't feel like I really corrected or anything. You know, so I got super fortunate there. It bent the doorbars. I mean, it hit a ton. So, you know, I was bummed at that time because, you know, I felt like if we were racing it out, you know,

and I talked to Chase afterwards, he was able to get me to the start, finish line, you know, kind of in front of the two, for 95% of the laps that we were battling there. And I was pumped about that. And I knew with the speeds that we were running, lap time-wise, I didn't think the third lane was going to be able to form. So I was pretty comfortable in that position. And then when the wreck happened, you know, green-white checkers, you never know how it's going to be.

And luckily, we all got it right for once. And we only had one green-white checkered, and we had enough fuel and all that. and I had all my Chevy teammates behind me. So I felt comfortable about that. You know, I was just, when I got off a turn four and Byron was pushing me, the six got clear and I thought he would pull up in front of me. And luckily he didn't.

So I was able to side-draft him there and, you know, Byron pushed me to the line. You talk about the strategy piece of it. You know, there's so many things that I don't think a lot of people outside of the sport completely understand. When you talk about the manufacturers, and the plan with not only your team, but all the other teams that are Chevroletes, you have this fuel savings piece of it that makes for great pictures.

You know, it's four wide, cars coming and going, and then all of a sudden, when everybody kind of singles out, you know, into two lanes, that's really all there's going to be when everybody's full speed. What's that like? Explain to everybody who's listening what it's like to try to save gas and be in the front, because I always found that extremely difficult. It is very difficult. You know, there was a lot of times that, you know, we have all the data. You know, third, fourth in line is probably the best spot to save fuel. You know, leading a line is definitely not where you want to be. So you kind of get your pawns that go out there and you want to, you know, lead some laps.

And, you know, it's frustrating because you want to go up there and lead. But at the same time, you want your pit stop to be as short as possible. So, you know, I don't think there's anything that is going to change, you know, how we. Speedway race, you know, we, we are always going to want to save fuel and make sure that, you know, when we do pit, we got the, you know, the most fuel that we can have already in our car. But, yeah, just for me, you know, we started 30 second in the race and I was like, all right, I'm going to jump to the outside line, knowing that, you know, not everybody's going to get going and push hard early. And so we got up into the top 15. And that was kind of where I was comfortable,

top 10, top 15. And then, you know, you want to be 50, 60% throttle and you want to just keep the gap to the car in front of you as tight as you can with this least amount of throttle. And, you know, it's very, very difficult, but, you know, it's nice when you get it right and your guys are telling you, hey, we got more fuel than everybody around us, you know, and we're still at the front. So it can be done. It is cool that, you know, every now and then you can kind of throttle up and, you know, like make that third, fourth lane work. I mean, that was, it's been a long time since we've been four wide for that long. I feel like at Talladega. And yeah, luckily the cars drive really well and everybody was pretty

comfortable. So you got done with the race and you decided to climb the fence. And I didn't know was that the plan was to climb the fence and getting the starter stand? You got down and then you got back and then you were like, well, how in hell am I going to get back over the fence? It looked like a lot of work. Was that the plan? Some of my crew guys are like, hey, we're climbing the fence with you. I was like, Perfect. We'll do that. So climbed up and then, you know, when I got going up, I looked and most catchbenchers have the, you know, kind of angled out at the top. And, you know, right there at the flag stand, that one just went straight up. I was like, oh, dang, I'm going to go up and over. I did an appearance for Taylor Generators up in a suite that was right there at the start finish line. And I saw some of the kids with their old miss gear on down in the front row that I had seen earlier in the day. And they had actually asked me, hey, when are you going to do American Ninja Warrior again? I was like, well, here we are. We're kind of doing it right here on the fence.

So I climbed over and I saw them. And then I turned to the officials and I was like, hey, is there a gate? And they're like, no, you got to go back the same way you came. So back up the flag stand and back over. So, yeah, no, it was wild. It was fun. And it's cool to win at Talladega, that's for sure. Okay.

I can't go past the American Ninja Warrior comment. Please elaborate on the American Ninja Warrior comment. What does that mean? Blaney and I did the American Ninja Warrior show. Actually, after my Talladego win in 2017, we flew up to Cleveland and we were on the show. And it has since surpassed my ability to do some of the things that they do. My spotter tab, his son's actually, Bentley is actually in the top. you know, kind of three of his age group in American Ninja Warrior. They have a deal for

kids all across the country. And so, yeah, for me, man, I, it's surpassed me. But I do like climbing on things. I've always done that when I was a kid, you know, climbing trees, hanging out in the woods, you know, just a lot of fun things. And so, yeah, climbing the fence, you know, it was kind of right up my alley. Yeah, well, that explains why you scaled that fence so easily. You've obviously practiced climbing things and swinging on ropes and whatever else comes with American Ninja Warriors. So that seemed

pretty effortless for you. So that explains a lot of things. When you got down, you started doing your interview. Being a dad, man, it's a different interview when you have that boy sitting at home and mom's at home and just explain the emotion that comes with not only winning

the race, but winning the race now that you're a dad. Yeah, that was you know, I kind of joked with Madison. I was like, man, y'all aren't coming to she didn't come to Atlanta. She had a wedding to go to and I took my mom and Stetson to Atlanta and I told Madison's like, hey, don't be mad if we win. And, you know, I got Stetson in Victory Lane without you. And, you know, we had a really good shot at it at Atlanta.

I had a fast car, but it didn't work out. And then they came to Kansas last week. And on the flight home, Stetson got a little restless the last probably 20 minutes. And we've had a lot going on here at the house. And so, Mattis like, you know what, I'm just going to chill out here for the weekend. So I went to Talladega by myself, and I kind of let myself think a little too far ahead during that red flag. I was like, man, if we do pull this off, Stetson and Madison aren't going to be here. And then, yeah, doing the interview, it just kind of hit me a ton of emotion.

Definitely wanted them in Victory Lane, but couldn't wait to get home to see him last night. And yeah, it definitely means a lot more and definitely hits different when you have. have a three-month-old son at home. And hopefully I can do this for quite a bit longer and can get him in Victory Lane when he's at the racetrack. Well, you got to love that emotion as a dad. It was pretty cool to see. I want to talk about your season as a whole, because when you look at the team, obviously there's changes coming with the team. You know, you had the mid-season deal with Kyle. The performance has kind of been up and down, and now you go to Victory Lane. First off, explain what this means to a small team like JTG and you've been in this position before.

You guys won the Daytona 500 last year. Just how that changes the landscape for looking for sponsors and what it does for you from a personal services side of things and everything that comes with winning a race for a team like yours. Yeah, it's massive. To put two seasons together with a win is, it's, huge for us. You know, it doesn't obviously get us into the playoffs, which our 500 win did.

But, you know, I think it builds just a lot of confidence in our guys. I saw a change in our whole team after the 500 win. And we were able to go on a really good run, you know, in 2023. I think we averaged around a, you know, 15th, 16th place finish for the whole season, which, you know, was a great season for us and, you know, the resources that we do have and the amount of people that we have compared to, you know, everybody else out there. I mean, you know, I would go to battle with these guys, you know, each and every week. But, you know, looking forward, I mean, it's huge with, you know, the things we got coming down the pipeline

and, you know, people that we bring to the race and looking for, you know, aligning everything up for next season. And, you know, and then on the personal service side, man, I've got so many great partners that back me, you know, start with Nals Energy Drink, you know, campers in, easy go, Hunt brothers, just so many people that, you know, help me behind the scenes and, you know, help me get to the racetrack and sleep at the racetrack. You know, there's so many people that just supported my career for such a long time. And, you know, to get them in Victory Lane and, you know, get them to enjoy these wins with me, it's really fun to have those longstanding partnerships and something that I'm really proud of.

and look forward to continuing to grow. Well, you must do a good job with the partners because it's always a tell-tale sign of who will go the extra mile when you have partners that you have to have to have more than two hands to start counting some of those relationships. When you look at the year and you say, we talk about the performance being up and down

in your victory lane, what's been the biggest battle for you guys? Short tracks, road courses, what's been the biggest battle from a performance standpoint? I know it can be hit or miss with this car. Yeah, I would say, you know, for the most part for us, I mean, the short tracks have been, I would say our biggest, you know, kind of struggle. You know, but really, I think it's just for us, just trying to hit our balance correctly. You know, I think we learned a lot at Kansas. You know, last week, we qualified better than we had been.

We had a really good first stage. Got a little bit off in that second stage, and then we got a flat in the third stage. There was a lot of things that I took away from that weekend that I'm really looking forward to seeing if they apply at Vegas and Homestead. But, you know, at the same time, you know, Richmond was, you know, obviously a bad race for us, you know, with the finish and kind of everything that happened at the end of that race. But, you know, we were running in the top 15, which, you know, for us at a short track was a big step in the right direction. So just trying not to lose sight of, you know, going back and, you know, you don't really want to look at those tough races. but you've got to learn from all of them. And I think we've kind of turned the corner a little bit on exactly, you know,

knowing what we need in our race cars at certain racetracks. And, you know, I was pumped at Watkins Glen with our speed and qualifying and the way our car was balanced. So looking forward to getting to the Roval and see if we can kind of have that same balance and same competitiveness that we had in qualifying at Watkins Glen. We got caught in that first lap wreck there. you know up and down season definitely but um you know i think that that comes along with this territory i mean this is a tough sport uh tough teams that you battle with each and every week and uh we're continuing

to learn so i know i know for me i hated a lot of things about the transition from the old car to the new car i didn't like the pedals i didn't like the way it steered i didn't there was just i felt like every day i was working to retrain myself in order to figure out how to drive the next gen car and it was just a it was a lot more work for you what's that what's that transition from old car to new car been like and and just what's the what's the one thing for you that you that sticks out to say i still just continuously can't consistently do what with with this new car from the driver for me yeah from me the the driver's standpoint you know i think there's a lot of times that you know i would say you and i sometimes had similar driving styles at racetracks

and, you know, I think some of the, you know, the drag that this car has in it, the low horsepower, you know, it's totally different of you got to use minimal, minimal break, and you got to creep into the gas as soon as you can. You know, when I felt like I first started driving in the Cup series, there was a lot of times that guys were like, you know, that I was learning from, you know, when you had all that horsepower, you know, when you went back to the gas, you went wide open, and that's how you kind of made lap time. And now it's like, man, if you could have 10 or 15 or 20 percent of throttle, you know, a hundred feet before somebody, now all of a sudden you're carrying that momentum down the straightaway because we don't have that horsepower to pull us up out of the hole. So trying to match my balance, trying to, you know, work with the guys, trying to match that balance to let me be able to get in the gas a lot.

sooner than probably we ever have before. And I think that's the biggest difference for me. Yeah, it's really messed up my light model racing career to start with here. I keep trying to go back to the throttle and it just, it's really, now I'm having to learn all over again. It's totally screwed up my late model career. So I look back at the middle of the season. Obviously, you had the incident with Kyle. What was that like? I was in trouble all the time and you're not one that's really in trouble a lot. So what was that like for you to kind of have all that controversy and everything surrounding you. How long did it last and what was it like to deal with all that with the Kyle situation? Yeah, I think for me, you know, I tend to get over things

fairly quick, you know, no matter what happens. And, you know, I think at North Wilkesboro, there was, you know, it was an all-star race. You know, I felt like he wrecked me on purpose, you know, on lap one and a half. And then now I'm stuck in the infield and I can't leave. And so, you know, I think I got mad at a couple times and then I got over it. My wife talked to me off the ledge a few times. And then, you know, by the time the race was over, I was like, you know what? I'm going to go talk to him and or at least wait for him.

And so, yeah, I felt like I gave him an ample amount of time to at least maybe apologize, even though we know Kyle and he's probably not going to. You know, and I felt like that was kind of the thing that just kind of pushed it over the edge. I was like just waiting on like, hey, man, I'm sorry. You know, I shouldn't have done that. I definitely crossed the line or something. But, you know, it was cool. My whole team was behind me.

All of our partners were behind me. I've gotten a lot of great fans at the racetrack from it. So not all is bad. You know, but sitting there lap one with a few of your kids. your sponsors that were also stuck in the infield. I felt bad for them as well. Well, you look at that, you look at that scenario and obviously it brought a lot of attention to the sport and whether good ways, bad ways, however you want to look at it. I think that, you know, it brought a lot of conversation to it. And I think for me, the one thing that

sticks out is your dad. And he was there in the middle of that situation, trying to break it up, it looked like to me. But I think it's, it's always very interesting when a driver and his father race together. And yours is still around in the infield. Talk to me about that bond between you and your dad and how you guys have grown up racing. I know it's not always easy, but talk about that father's son relationship

just with your racing career and now that he gets to kind of watch you compete at the top level for so many years. Yeah, and I'm sure you're going through it right now with Keelan and racing. Like for my dad and I, I think you look back at, you know, racers, you know, all across the country and some of those relationships with their parents and definitely their fathers can be a little bit splintered at times.

And I think, you know, it's just because you spend so much time together. I spent more time with my dad, you know, than anybody I have in my life. You know, we were in the race shop, you know, Monday through Sunday, you know, working on race cars, working in his engine shop, going to the racetrack on the weekend. and, you know, the biggest thing was just, you know, he instilled so much work ethic and, you know, and expected a lot for me. And it felt like I learned so much from doing that. There was times that, you know, we drove three hours to a racetrack and I never made a lap on the racetrack. You know, I backtalked them and, you know, we loaded up and went home and drove three hours back.

So, you know, we've had our fair share of hard talks. and, you know, but I think for me, I wouldn't trade it for the world. He taught me so much. I mean, he was racing. I felt like, you know, I would go to the racetrack when I was a kid and work on his his sprint car and scrape mud. And, you know, I felt like I would stand in the infield and watch every single lap that he ever made.

And I felt like I learned a ton before I ever got into, you know, a sprint car, you know, just from watching him. And so, yeah, to have him at the track. And back in the day, hey, he, He got in his fair share of sculptiles at the racetrack. I normally wasn't in those. I was pretty calm. But, you know, like the first thing I thought was like, somebody could get my dad.

And looking back after talking to my dad and that whole scenario, he was like, man, the security guy and one of Kyle's guys grabbed you. And I didn't want anybody to have a free shot at you. So I was just grabbing people. So, yeah, it was part of it. But, you know, I think I wouldn't trade anything that my dad is. has done. And, you know, like I said, we've, we've had some, some tough times, but I think that comes

with the territory of, you know, him just wanting the best for me. And I definitely don't think I'd be, you know, in the situation and position that I'm in without his, you know, kind of kind of tough battles that we had at the racetracks and at home in the shop. So is he still a critic? Is he still critique you? He does. He does.

And I take it to, you know, I think my dad is. he's better now with, you know, he really gets mad when I make mistakes, right? You know, especially mistakes that he doesn't feel like I should make. And so, you know, he'll definitely speak up there. But I think what he's done for me is just more of, you know, building the confidence in me to, you know, kind of help go in and, you know, kind of be a team leader, you know, talk to the guys, those hard conversations that we had when I was a kid.

now I get to have those with my race team, right? You know, when things aren't going well and you've got to sit down and, you know, figure things out as a race team, I feel like, you know, a lot of times talk to him before I get to the shop and kind of bounce ideas off of him, you know, that way because, you know, he's never wanted to sit in silence. If something's wrong, he will confront it. And, you know, that's something that's been, you know, definitely a benefit for me. So you look at all those sprint car days and now you have your own sprint car team.

You go and dabble in it every once in a while. What's it like to go back and try to drive that sprint car just every once and a while when you go back? It's got to be just breathtaking the first time you get in it when it's been a while. It is. I definitely wish back in early cup career, Jack Rauch had asked me not to raise sprint cars. It was a time where, man, it seemed like, you know, one year after another, there was, you know, something happening, you know, that kind of put a black owl in the sport, I guess, a little bit of, as far as the dangerous aspect of it goes. And so I quit racing in spurt cars for a long time. And then I, you know, kind of dabbled back in it, got back in it. And, you know, anytime we go race our 360 Nalsernergy drink sprint car, I feel really comfortable and feel really, you know, ready to go.

And when we put the 410 in, you know, that extra horsepower, the lighter race cars, definitely need to run them more consistently to feel comfortable in. And so that's something Dad's, you know, been talking to me about. He's like, hey, are we actually going to do this or are we still just going to dabble in it? Because he wants to build a couple new cars and, you know, really, you know, hit the road running and make sure that, you know, when we show up, we're ready to go. So we'll probably go do maybe a little more testing and get a little more comfortable. comfortable. But yeah, they are a big difference. That's for sure from what we do every Sunday.

Sprint cars have been so much in the news. And you look at the high limits and the world of outlaws. I know you guys, you guys kind of go in, you know, both directions, it seems on occasion. What's that been like to have the two series this year for sprint car racing in general, in your opinion? Yeah, I don't, you know, I think a lot of people thought it was going to be a bad thing for for a while. but I think it's been great for a number of reasons. I think there's big paying races all across the country that different teams can get to. California's got their big races with the High Limit Series and then come back out there with the outlaws and they have their big races.

Same thing out in Pennsylvania and all across the Midwest. So I think it's been a great thing for sprint car racing. I think it's elevated the competition all across the country. country at some of these big races. So many race cars, so many great teams right now in the sport of Sprint Car racing. And, you know, we, we are on the outlaw side with our Nalser Nogneged Drink Sprint Car and Sheldon. You know, that's the path that we chose that we felt like was best for our team. And, you know, I definitely like our decision. And, you know, but it's, it's elevated the purses on both sides. And so I think our sport is in a great spot right now.

So you mentioned Noss, and they do a great job with the promotions that they do. And I watch this year, and it looks like you guys are in some sort of open wheel car. I know the fans can go and check it out on social media. There has to be one good story from all you maniacs together at that shoot. Is there one? Did somebody crash something, flip something, run into each other? There has to be at least one good one. that shoot went 10 times better than any of us thought it was going to go.

Lauren presented us this whole, like a few of us, like this whole open will concept. And I said, how many backup cars do you have? Because that was like my number one concern. And man, everybody did a really good job. And we didn't flip any. there was a you know we were out at in in Arizona and one of those dust kind of wind cloud storm deals came up and it did throw tents and landed on some pretty pricey cars that were out in the parking lot and knocked a power pole out so that was probably the craziest thing that happened but we had a lot of fun with this shoot can't wait for everybody to see the rest of it. So the main question on this show is obviously the easiest one. We got to know what your first car was.

What was the first car you drove on the street? Did you buy it? Was it given to you? What was it? My dad and my parents bought me a 94 Chevrolet four-wheel drive extended cab. Paint was kind of chipping off of it. I think that year had a bad primer or something, and the paint was chipping off of it.

and I think dad paid $4,000 for it. And yeah, that was my first truck. Where did it go? Did you wreck it, sell it? What'd you do with it? No, we sold it to a cousin of mine, and now I don't know where it is, but I really kind of want at least to get another one.

That doesn't have to be that one, but at least another one. Well, I appreciate you taking the time today. Congratulations on everything over the week. weekend at Talladega. Have a great week and enjoy that baby, man. Thank you. It's been fun. I think he's waking up from a nap now, so it's time to go feed him. I want to thank Ricky for taking the time. It was great to catch up with him. Glad they got to Victory Lane. What a moment for that team. But to be able to break down all those questions and things about his racing career was a lot of fun.

So I hope you enjoyed it. Follow us on social media. Give us a five-star review and block Mamba from everything that you have.