Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut driving the No. 45 Chevrolet for Niece Motorsports at Daytona International Speedway, the team announced Wednesday.
Stenhouse, the 2023 Daytona 500 winner and two-time NASCAR O‘Reilly Auto Parts Series champion, has never made a Truck Series start despite competing in NASCAR‘s national series since 2009. The Mississippi native will compete in each of the first two truck races of 2026 for Niece, driving the No. 45 J.F. Electric Chevrolet at both Daytona and EchoPark Speedway.
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“I’ve always wanted to run a truck, but never had the opportunity to put something together,” Stenhouse Jr. said in a release. “When Cody (Efaw, Niece‘s CEO) called me, I definitely had a lot of interest to see what all they have been building here at Niece Motorsports, especially looking at their level of competition. With it being at Daytona, obviously winning the 500 was awesome, and I’d love to win a Truck Series race there, too. I’ve always wanted to race a truck, but I wanted it to be competitive — and this checks all of those boxes.”
Stenhouse has won four Cup Series races and eight O‘Reilly Auto Parts Series races across a combined 582 starts. All four of his Cup victories have come on superspeedways — two at Daytona and two at Talladega Superspeedway.
“We are all very excited to welcome Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to our team for his first time racing in the Truck Series,” Efaw said. “I’ve known Ricky for several years now dating back to our time at Roush (now RFK Racing), and he’s always been a natural on superspeedways. I believe he will have a true shot at contending for the win at both Daytona and Atlanta.”
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J.F. Electric CEO and chairman Greg Fowler became part of Niece Motorsports‘ new ownership group in 2025 along with Josh Morris, CEO of DQS Solutions & Staffing.
“Josh Morris and I are thrilled to welcome Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to Niece Motorsports for his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Daytona,” Fowler said. “There‘s no bigger stage for a debut than Daytona, and we believe Ricky gives our team a real opportunity to contend for the win. We‘d love nothing more than to be celebrating together in Victory Lane at the end of the race.”
The Fresh from Florida 250 begins the 2026 truck season at Daytona on Friday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
