Getty Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will have a new secret weapon in Tab Boyd.
When Ricky Stenhouse Jr. climbs into the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Camaro for the Daytona 500, he will join forces with a new spotter in Tab Boyd. They just started working together prior to the season, but Stenhouse has very high hopes for their future prospects.
“I think Tab is a top-five spotter on the roof in our garage,” Stenhouse told Heavy during NASCAR Media Day. “And [he’s] got really good success winning at all different types of racetracks. Definitely feel like him and [Joey Logano] worked really well. Him and [William Byron] worked really well.”
The veteran spotter in Boyd has extensive experience across the national series. He most recently served as the spotter for Byron from 2018 until 2021, resulting in 51 top-10 finishes, 21 top-fives, and two wins.
Boyd also spent several years as the spotter for Joey Logano, Danica Patrick, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Camping World Truck Series champion Johnny Sauter.
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Stenhouse’s Best Tracks Will Be an Important Part of the Relationship
GettyRicky Stenhouse Jr. has achieved success at superspeedways.
Stenhouse has been a full-time driver in the Cup Series since the 2013 season with two trips to Victory Lane, both in 2017. He won at Talladega Superspeedway and at Daytona International Speedway. He also has an average finish of 14.1 at Talladega and 19.6 at Daytona.
Stenhouse will now move forward with a spotter that is no stranger to winning. Boyd took several trips to Victory Lane with Logano at a variety of tracks during their half-decade together. This is a run that included the 2015 Daytona 500 and the 2015 playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway. The duo combined for another win at Talladega in 2016.
“I think of what him and Logano were able to do on the speedways and the information that he’s given me so far throughout the tests that we’ve had,” Stenhouse added. “Everything’s been spot on and I’m looking forward to running in a full season with him.”
Stenhouse already has two wins at superspeedways, as well as multiple top-five finishes at both Daytona and Talladega. If this partnership with Boyd continues as expected, he will only improve upon these numbers while pursuing a return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season.
Stenhouse’s Role Changed During the Offseason
While he has always had teammates during his Cup Series career, the situation changed for the Alabama native ahead of the 2022 season. JTG Daugherty Racing changed to have only one car in order to focus on becoming more competitive.
Since announcing this change, JTG Daugherty Racing has secured a multitude of returning and new partners alike. Irish Spring, Kroger, Food 4 Less, Louisiana Hot Sauce, and NOS Energy Drink are only some of the partners that will support the No. 47 and provide crucial funds throughout the season.
“We feel really good about where we are at as a race team,” Stenhouse said. “We’ve obviously [had] big financial costs of building brand new race cars and ordering all brand new parts for cars that we’ve never had before. So when we have new companies coming in, returning partners coming back, it definitely makes things better for our race team and brings confidence to our crew guys and everybody that’s working on the cars.”
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