Is Waffle House the new Disney World?
After the Super Bowl every year, you always hear the winners say “I’m going to Disney World!” But it seems like nowadays, Waffle House is the place to go after a big win.
It’s where Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence celebrated after pulling off an incredible 27-point comeback against the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC wild card game last year.
And after his big win in the 2023 Daytona 500, NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also decided to hit up the ol’ faithful Waffle House to celebrate – and he brought some hardware with him.
Video showed Stenhouse Jr. (who appeared to be slightly intoxicated, but who can blame him) walking into Waffle House with the Harley J. Earl Trophy in hand to get him some late-night smothered and covered:
“Hello. We’re hungry.”
And of course the local Waffle House employees gave Stenhouse a round of applause once they realized he was the Daytona 500 winner – because they know how to make you feel like family when you’re at the Waffle Home.
I’m sure it was a long night of partying for Stenhouse and crew after winning NASCAR’s biggest race, only his third victory during his 10 full seasons in the Cup Series.
And it was a hard fought victory for the driver of the #47 Chevy for single-car team JTG Daugherty Racing.
RFK Racing teammates Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher looked dominant as they led the field late in the race, with Richard Childress Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon on their tail. But a late caution when Daniel Suarez spun out stacked up the field just as Busch in the lead during his first race for RCR, and sent the race into overtime.
On the ensuing restart, Stenhouse managed to go from 7th to the lead just as a big crash broke out behind him when Austin Dillon got turned and collected nearly half the field.
The race went back to green on lap 208, making it the longest Daytona 500 in history. And as Stenhouse battled Joey Logano for the lead on the final lap, Travis Pastrana got turned into Kyle Larson, sending Larson into the wall and the rest of the field piling into a wreck.
When NASCAR threw the yellow flag, Logano and Stenhouse were neck and neck, and the finish came down to who was in the lead at the moment NASCAR threw the caution flag.
After a video review, NASCAR determined that Stenhouse was the leader, bringing home the win for the team co-owned by former NBA player Brad Daugherty.
After all that, who can blame the guy for wanting some good southern cooking from the Waffle House – and for not wanting to put the trophy down?
We’ll find out today who takes home the Daytona 500 trophy this year – but hopefully the know that Waffle House is the only place to celebrate.
@nbcsports We’ll never forget Ricky Stenhouse Jr. taking the Daytona 500 trophy to Waffle House after last year’s win! 😂 #daytona500 #nascar #rickystenhousejr #trophy #wafflehouse ♬ original sound – NBC Sports
