Stenhouse Jr. Making Mississippi Proud

Photo: Tampa Bay Times

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the 65th Daytona 500 Sunday evening after a couple of overtimes led to a caution-ended race.  The victory was the third of his career and was by far his biggest accomplishment to date.  Stenhouse comes from Olive Branch, Mississippi, a small town just a few miles out of Memphis, Tennessee.  This Daytona 500 victory means a lot, not just to Stenhouse, but to the state behind him.

Mississippi is one of 23 states in the United States that does not have a professional sports team across the major sports in the country.  Many Mississippians take their sports interests to the collegiate level, supporting the University of Mississippi or Mississippi State University or even the University of Southern Miss.  For the fandoms of Mississippians in professional sports, some will become fans of a surrounding area such as New Orleans or Atlanta or Nashville.  Others will cheer for teams that hold Mississippi college alumni.  But it does become difficult for Mississippians to have a true home feel when watching professional sports.

That feeling changed when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. moved up to the highest level of NASCAR.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is a driver that gives the state of Mississippi someone to cheer on during the NASCAR races.  Now perhaps not all Mississippians root for the hometown guy.  I, personally, have found favor in the story behind Martin Truex Jr. from Mayetta, New Jersey.  But, I do find a sense of pride whenever Stenhouse performs well and certainly win he wins.  I was lucky enough to be in attendance for his first career victory at Talladega in the Spring of 2017.  As a Mississippian myself, I am proud to have Ricky Stenhouse Jr. represent the state of Mississippi and add his name to the list of those winners of the Harley J. Earl trophy.

Stenhouse's Daytona 500 win adds to a recent string of Mississippi successes in sports, both collegiate and professional.  There were more native Mississippians in the 2023 Super Bowl than any other state.  Both Mississippi State and the University of Mississippi are back-to-back College Baseball National Champions. Stenhouse is adding his name to that list of recent Mississippians who have found sport's success with his Daytona 500 win.