NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will return to the Sprint Cup for the Daytona 500 in Roush Fenway's No. 6 Ford.
Stenhouse became the first man to win the Nationwide title under the new system in which drivers could only compete for one NASCAR series crown per year, ending the era of the second-tier championship invariably going to a Cup regular contesting a parallel schedule.
The 24-year-old already has one Cup start under his belt having substituted for Trevor Bayne at Wood Brothers when the Daytona 500 winner was sidelined from last May's Charlotte event due to illness.
Roush's No. 6 entry was driven by David Ragan last year, but main sponsor UPS's decision to scale down its backing meant Ragan was released. It is currently unclear whether Stenhouse will remain in the car beyond Daytona, but the car is guaranteed a start in the first five rounds of 2012 as Ragan took it to 23rd in last season's owners' point standings.